The federal cabinet is likely to give approval for the ratification of a liberal visa agreement with India in the Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday. According to documents obtained by Business Recorder, the Ministry of Interior has submitted a summary before the cabinet for its approval for ratification of the visa agreement. It is on top of the agenda along with 15 other items likely to be discussed in the meeting.
The cabinet will also likely to give go-ahead to the ministry of commerce's proposal for ratification of three other agreements with India. These included agreement on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs matters, bilateral co-operation agreement on mutual recognition between PSQCA and BIS and agreement on addressing trade grievances between Pakistan and India.
For improvement in relations at people-to-people level between Pakistan and India, the cabinet will also consider a summary put forward by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry recommended to the government to allow ratification of an MoU on co-operation between Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The Cabinet Committee will also discuss the Ministry of Finance's proposal for initiating negotiations for a reciprocal agreement between Pakistan and the United States and an MoU between the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) Pakistan and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US.
The Ministry of Finance also sought approval from Cabinet for initiating negotiations for a reciprocal agreement between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates and an MoU between the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) Pakistan and the UAE's Financial Intelligence Unit.
The cabinet will also discuss a proposal of the Ministry of Commerce, seeking permission for signing of a joint declaration on co-operation between Pakistan and Efta member states. Another summary moved by the Ministry of Defence was regarding signing of an MoU between Iraq and Pakistan for military training of the Iraq Army. The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2012 may also get approval from the Cabinet.
The Ministry of Railways has sought approval from the competent authority for condoning deviation of Public Procurement Rules of 2004 in the procurement of 75 locomotives. Other items likely to be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the cabinet included the matter of approval of the general agreement for co-operation between John Hopkins University (JHU) of the US and Pakistan's National Defence University (NDU).
The government will also initiate negotiations on MoU between Pakistan and Egypt in the social welfare sector. The matter has been put on the agenda items of the meeting. The signing of an agreement between Pakistan and Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (Aardo) for the establishment of sixth regional office of Aardo at Akhter Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development (AHK-NCRD) at Islamabad will also be considered.
Ex-post facto approval of an MOU between Board of Investment (BOI) and Concentrix (CX) Solar Korea Co Ltd may also been given in the meeting. The committee will also decide the termination of Pakistan-Greece Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation of Income from the operation of ships and aircraft. The cabinet committee will review the status of implementation of decisions taken by cabinet and the prices of essential commodities in market.