The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has proposed concrete suggestions to be discussed at the meeting between the commerce ministers of India and Pakistan scheduled to be held on September 28 and 29 at Delhi.
A four-member chamber delegation comprising of its President Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, Vice-President Juniad Esmail Makda, former President and Chairman Sindh Board of Investment Zubair Motiwala and former President KCCI Majiyd Aziz participated in a meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi Shahid Malik and CEO of Trade Development Authority Tariq Iqbal Puri at 5 TDAP.
According to programme Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem along with 40 members' trade delegation will visit India from 26 to 30 September 2011 and during his stay in India the delegation will visit Mumbai and Delhi and hold meetings with trade bodies, government officials, ministers and discuss issues related to trade and investment.
The delegation suggested that India should be allowed to invest in various sectors in Pakistan. The delegation proposed that Pakistan business community should be allowed to open their office in India. They also highlighted various items including the trade policy for allowing the trade with India which would be beneficial for the domestic industries of Pakistan engaged in the export oriented and other sectors.
KCCI also discussed issues to increase trade through land-route and besides Wagah-Attari, to open the Monabao-Khokrapar and improve Customs facilitations and infrastructure. The delegation highlighted that visa is the core issue and requested efforts should be made to resolve it in forthcoming commerce ministers' meeting. It is suggested that many items which are imported from China can be imported from India due to cost effectiveness.
The chamber proposed trade of minerals, coal, textiles, and steel, etc. President KCCI Saeed Shafiq is of the view that collaboration in steel would be very profitable for both countries. The recently inked MoU between KCCI and Bombay CCI is also deliberated and efforts of Juniad Makda were appreciated.
Zubair Motiwala suggested sectors in Sindh where Indians could be invited to invest. Majyd Aziz informed that Pakistan could export up to 150,000 tones of chrome ore to ferro-chrome plants in India but due to heavy freight cost, Pakistan is missing on immediate export of 45 to 50 million dollars per year.
The KCCI team is very bullish about the visit of a high-powered business delegation to India led by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem and pledged full support of the chamber Talking to Business Recorder Juniad Esmail Makda said that the delegation will be comprised of businessmen from 15 industrial and trade sectors and hold B-2-B meeting with their counter parts in India. He said Pakistan needs to boost its trade with India and time is ripe to take concrete steps to demolish trade barriers.
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