Pakistan will take up the issue of non-tariff barriers with India in the upcoming secretary level talks scheduled to be held on April 27 and 28 in the federal capital, said Federal Secretary Commerce, Zafar Mahmood while speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), here on Friday.
Taking the Lahore based business community in confidence regarding the upcoming talks with his Indian counterpart, he said that all genuine reservations of businessmen would be raised in the forthcoming trade dialogue. He said that he would convince his Indian counterpart for establishing a Joint Pak-India chamber having the authority to grant visa to businessmen so that they could do maximum bilateral trade.
Mahmood also apprised the LCCI members of some key items on the agenda of secretary-level talks. Banking sector co-operation, mechanism for dispute resolution, developing an institutional framework for the promotion of trade ties, home textiles, cement, IT, auto sector, road/rail links, landing rights for Pakistani TV channels would be discussed in the meeting, he added.
Pakistan will resume the stalled trade talks with India and hopes to develop an institutional framework to enable the two South Asian nations to exploit their vast potential, he said. "Integrity of intent remains vital to boost trade, which suffered because of the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, he added.
Appreciating the government for initiating process of consultation with private sector on trade with India and MFN status, President LCCI, Shahzad Ali Malik said that there was a need to do serious homework for improving bilateral trade ties. "We need to resolve all our major outstanding disputes including Kashmir and water through trade and not at the expense of trade," he added.
He urged the federal secretary to work with counterparts in India to develop and integrate air, sea, rail and road network to facilitate the flow of cargo across borders and beyond. He said that choices are limited in trade finance, which is benefiting third country banking institutions. Banks from both sides should be allowed to operate in each other's country and offer Pakistan and Indian rupee accounts.
The president LCCI said that Pak-India trade relations need innovative approach. One such way of promoting bilateral trade in a barrier-less environment is to establish Combined Free Trade Zones (FTZs) at various points across the Pak-India border where people can enter and exit by showing their respective proof of national identity. These visa free trading parks at various points across the border will be beneficial for developing bilateral trade, he maintained.
Malik said that in the field of biotechnology, Pakistan could greatly benefit from Indian research especially on high-yielding seed varieties in general and BT Hybrid cotton in particular. He said that both countries should harmonise their custom procedures for testing compliance of safety and quarantine standards. In this regard, special quarantine centers and labs for compliance with safety standards should be established at crossing points, he added.
He said obstacles to cross-border investment, other than restrictions based on national security grounds, should be removed and obtaining government approval should be simplified and streamlined. Companies from both the countries should be allowed to float shares in the securities markets of the other, and double taxation on corporate and individual incomes should be removed.
He said that they need to work in close co-ordination to involve all the important stakeholders before finalising the way forward on trade with India and on granting MFN status to India. Senior Vice President LCCI, Sheikh Mohammad Arshad, former Presidents Mian Shafqat Ali, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, former Senior Vice President, Abdul Basit, former Vice President, Aftab Ahmad Vohra and Executive committee members Yousaf Shah, Fahimur Rehman Segol and Ghulam Sarwar Malik were also present.