India and Pakistan on Wednesday agreed to jointly work towards doubling the bilateral trade to $6 billion annually from the current level of $2.7 billion by 2014. They also decided to put in place a liberalised visa regime from November 2011 for business communities of both nations.
In a joint statement, released after the official level bilateral talks between Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and the visiting Pakistan Commerce and Trade Minister Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim here, both sides said that India and Pakistan were entering a new phase of full normalisation of bilateral trade relations which augured well for enhancing mutual trust and understanding. It was also decided that the Commerce Secretaries of the two nations would meet in November to take forward what had been agreed at the talks.
Stating that both India and Pakistan were engaged towards ensuring a liberalised visa regime, the statement said both Ministers said they expected this matter to be expeditiously concluded before November.
The new business visa regime is expected to allow multiple-entry and could be for a period up to one year. The Ministers expressed hope that such a new visa regime would rapidly expand the vistas of bilateral commerce.
They emphasised that a more secure regional environment would progressively help both countries to keep liberalising the visa arrangements for business persons.
Both the Ministers agreed that India and Pakistan should jointly work to more than double bilateral trade by 2014 from the current level of $2.7 billion to about $6 billion. Both the countries also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the India Trade Promotion Organisation and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan to promote trade and investment. The MoU shall foster better trade promotional activities for the benefit of business communities of both countries.
Both Mr. Sharma and Mr. Fahim fully reaffirmed their commitment for normalised commercial links between both countries which would strengthen the bilateral relationship and build the bridges of friendship, trust and understanding for the mutual benefit of their people and promotion of prosperity in South Asia.
Both the Commerce Ministers mandated their Commerce Secretaries to pursue with vigour the task of fully normalising bilateral trade relations. Both agreed their countries would cooperate for a high ambition of preferential trade relations under the framework of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). They agreed that all mutual obligations contracted under SAFTA would be implemented with full sincerity.
The statement said when the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries meet, they would lay down specific timelines to normalise all trade relationships, including dismantling of all non-tariff barriers. Full implementation of SAFTA obligations was also mandated.
Both Ministers agreed to further promote greater intra-regional connectivity through road, rail, shipping and air. They affirmed that both countries would cooperate and work in close coordination at multilateral forum such as WTO and SAARC, to support each other, thereby strengthening their economies.
