Nambiar calls on Pak. Minister

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23. The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Mr. Vijay K. Nambiar, called on the Pakistan Commerce Minister, Mr. Abdul Razaak Dawood, on Friday and discussed matters of mutual interest in the context of the forthcoming Summit meeting.

Mr. Nambiar, who returned here on Thursday night after a weeklong stay for consultations in New Delhi, told the Minister that India looked forward to `enhanced economic co-operation' with Pakistan.

It is presumed that they deliberated on ways and means to enhance the trade between the two countries. As part of his preparations for the Agra Summit, Gen. Musharraf is believed to have had several rounds of discussions with the Commerce Minister and senior officials in his Ministry in recent days.

Economic co-operation could be an important item on the agenda of the proposed summit between the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee and Gen. Pervez Musharraf, when they meet in Agra on July 16.

The trade between India and Pakistan is as low as $ 200 millions while the estimates of unofficial trade vary from $ 1 to $ 2 billions. There is tremendous scope for enhanced trade between the two countries and the business community on both sides of the borders is keen on an open trade policy.

India has already accorded the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) to Pakistan and has been urging Pakistan to reciprocate the gesture. However, Pakistan has been resisting the demand on the ground that normalisation in trade relations is not possible unless the Kashmir issue is solved. There is a view that the time has come for both the countries to de-link trade from issues such as Kashmir.

Just a month ago, a high-level delegation of senior businesspersons from India were here on a mission to improve trade relations with Pakistan. In response to their demand for grant of MFN status to India, the Commerce Minister of Pakistan had ruled out the possibility.

It was a coincidence that the morning after their scheduled meeting with Gen. Musharraf got cancelled, the invitation came to the Chief Executive to visit New Delhi. In their meeting with the Commerce Minister, the business delegation raised several other issues. The Minister was equally non-committal on the other demands of the delegation relating to easing of visa restrictions, expansion of the list of items that could be imported by Pakistani businessmen from India and construction of warehouses on the border to ease the trade flow.

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Section  : International
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