NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD, Jan 16:
Pakistan today made a strong case for relaxing visa regime, improving mobile connectivity and according non-discriminatory market access to boost trade and business ties with India.
“Barriers to bilateral trade must be removed. Besides, tariff…Lack of adequate connectivity and transportation; issues of standards; customs harmonisation, communications, visa facilitation, payment mechanisms, dispute resolution among others are needed to be addressed,” Pakistan Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan said.
In his address at a CII function, he said it is important to relax visa regime to facilitate movement of business travellers.
On the contentious issue of Pakistan according the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, Khan said that “regarding the ‘M’ word, let us just say that we have shifted it one letter down to ‘N’ and now we are discussing ‘Non-Discriminatory Access’.
“The idea of course is (that) instead of getting caught or rather stranded in nomenclature, we should work sincerely towards proving substantial market access to each other whatever nomenclature we use,” he said.
Referring to the issue of mobile connectivity and banking issues, Khan said: “Both the countries should have these kinds of connectivities, which facilitate trade and investment.”
Khan, who is leading a delegation of 70 businessmen, said that efforts were on to enhance two-way trade through the Wagha border.
“An enhancement of trade through Wagha is under active negotiation at this moment. We are hoping to have a positive (outcome) on that,” he added.
Khan said Pakistan believes in forging good neighbourly relations, ensuring stable and friendly environment as well as seeking a multiplier effect whereby each other’s strength to grow and prosper together is reinforced.
Emphasising greater need for trade between the two nations, he said, anti-India slogan was not part of election campaign in 2013.
“This is an opportunity we should not let go,” he added.
On import of textile machinery, the Minister said that it can be looked at but for import of agriculture products there are issue of disparity of subsidy.
Khan also expressed the view that both sides need to encourage maximum exchange of delegations and person-to-person meetings to enhance business opportunities and creating complementaries for collaboration of value-chains of various sectors.
Pakistan is hosting Made in India exhibition in mid- February in Lahore. It is also planning to hold 2nd edition of ‘Life Style Pakistan’ exhibition in India.
Before leaving for India, the minister said in Islamabad: “The State Bank of Pakistan has just written to the RBI that three banks would like to open their branches in India. I don’t know when but it will happen. Some movement has taken place.”
Overall, India-Pakistan trade is worth USD 3 billion and the industry wants that all efforts should be made to increase it to USD 10 billion in the next three years.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are working to allow three banks to set up branches on each other’s soil to normalise trade relations and boost commerce, Minister of State for Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan has said.
The two sides had agreed in August 2012 to issue a full banking licence to two banks from each country. However, normalisation of trade was hit after Pakistan failed to deliver on a commitment to grant Most Favoured Nation-status to India in January last year.
“We were told that the Reserve Bank of India had since, I would say, lessened its restrictions, it is no longer two banks. Any bank that fulfils the requirement can apply. For the time being, we are working on three banks each,” Khan said here.
The issue of setting up bank branches on each other’s soil was raised with Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma by Pakistan’s Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif when he visited New Delhi recently.
Khan, who left for India today to participate in a SAARC business meet, said, “The State Bank of Pakistan has just written to the RBI that three banks would like to open their branches in India. I don’t know when but it will happen. Some movement has taken place.”
In 2012, the two Indian banks allowed to operate in Pakistan were the State Bank of India and Bank of India. On the Pakistani side, the quasi-state owned National Bank of Pakistan and privately owned United Bank Ltd were selected for running full banking operations in India once they obtained licences.
However, there has not been much forward movement on the issue.
Khan, a top leader of the ruling PML-N party, argued that the biggest hurdle to normal trade ties was the “very restrictive visa regime”.
“People cannot travel to the other country. Visa is not something that appears on trading figures but is very substantial. If businessmen from one country cannot travel to another country and see firsthand and analyse the economic opportunities that are there, then trade is severely hampered,” he said.
“Visa restriction is what we call a non-tariff barrier,” he added.
Khan pointed out another issue not reflected by trade figures was the lack of bilateral banking relations.
“That is also not a trading issue but is a necessary facility required for trading. So banking relationship has to be there. Another issue that we will talk about, maybe not in this trip, is to allow communication network. Allow roaming,” he said.
“And here I am quite definite that obtaining a SIM in Pakistan is miles easier than it is in India. So if people can’t communicate and use the banking channel, and if they can’t travel, it is a hurdle to trade,” he said. (PTI)
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