The truck diplomacy being pursued in connection with facilitation of overland trade between Pakistan and India has started yielding positive results. According to a Recorder Report, the technical level meeting held between the customs authorities of the two countries at Wagah, was marked by mutually chalked out modalities to allow cross-border movement of trucks up to the designated points at Wagah/Attari from October 1, 2007.
An officially stated, the Pakistani side was led by the Collector of Customs, Lahore, Ali Salman Abbasi, while the Indian side was headed by S.K. Swami, Director (BM), Ministry of Home Affairs. This followed a series of meetings to thrash out a strategy to provide a boost to formal trading between the two countries, which had already been informally carried out to their mutual advantage.
Needless to point out, the measures already adopted for expanding across the border communication links, have brought to the fore a mutual desire for further facilitation of increased two-way trade. It will be recalled that at the last round of trade talks held in New Delhi last month, considerable emphasis was laid on a cross-border truck service to ferry goods.
The agenda for that meeting also included tea exports from India, joint registration of Basmati rice and new items for trade such as cement. Although the issue of joint registration for Basmati remained unresolved, progress was noted on other matters.
Pakistan's keen interest for increasing exports to India can be attributed to the need of striking a balance in the flow of mutual trade. For, according to latest statistics Pakistan's exports to India stood at $323 million, while Indian exports to Pakistan crossed $1 billion in 2005-06.
On its part, India has a considerable surplus of exportable goods and services, for which the nearest accessible market is Pakistan, and a most economical route for it lies via Wagah and Attari. These were essentially the reasons the two neighbours also discussed the launch of truck service through the Wagah-Attari border crossing in India's Punjab state.
As it is, goods are brought up to the land crossing at Wagah and then carried by labourers across the border and loaded onto waiting trucks. However, many and varied being the problems hindering the initiatives, efforts continued to resolve all the impeding issues.
It will be noted that since 2004, India and Pakistan have increased transport links with the addition of several bus routes, including one connecting Srinagar, capital of Indian held Kashmir with Muzaffarabad, administrative headquarters of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The two sides agreed on establishing designated points on both sides of the Wagah/Attari border for unloading of cargo, and prescribed the mode and manner of transport of goods to the destination. Now one can look forward to substantial increase in the trade between the two countries.
Seemingly the measures now adopted are foolproof and as such they should yield the desired results. Mention in this regard may also be made of the provision of a hotline between the two customs authorities at the Wagah/Attari border, to sort out matters in unforeseen eventualities.
Yet another significant feature of the accord is the decision to obviate the need for passports, visas and international driving licence, and their replacement with a system of computerised single entry permits covering the entire segment of identity with a thoroughly scientific mechanism.
Significantly, the two sides also agreed that the customs authorities may also consult each other to resolve local issues as and when required. All in all, it will be a happy augury for extensive trading between the two countries in future.
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