India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday agreed with a Pakistani business delegation on the need for mutual co-operation among neighbouring countries to be able to compete effectively in the textile sector in post-multi-fiber arrangement (MFA) regime.
A press release of the Commerce and Industry Ministry said a high-level business delegation from the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association led by Ahmed Kamal called on Kamal Nath here, and conveyed desire of Pak business community to forge closer ties with India in textiles, especially within the context of phasing out textile quotas under MFA to take effect from January 1, 2005.
"Business communities on both sides have to be drivers of partnership as this is most effective way of promoting bilateral co-operation", said Kamal Nath.
The delegation members said that Pakistan was not a competitor of India in textiles as it was concentrating mainly on home furnishing, whereas India had a more diverse range of product coverage, in particular, ready-made garments.
They called for creating a hassle-free environment through customs facilitation measures to promote free movement of goods on the border and also for tariff concessions under South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta) for textile items from Pakistan.
The delegation said Pakistan, in turn, would be keen to import textile machinery, dyes and chemicals from India, which had its sources for these products elsewhere.
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