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CII sees scope for more trade with Pak

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, July 11

THERE is tremendous opportunity for Pakistan to source its present requirement of raw materials, intermediate goods and components from India in a cost-effective manner, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said.

In a statement, the chamber said that procuring these items from India would not only enable Pakistan to expand its manufacturing base and facilitate cost-competitiveness in production, but it will also augment scope for exporting semi-finished/finished goods to India and third countries.

The chamber has also said that the fears of Pakistani markets being swamped by Indian goods if the most favoured nation (MFN) status is granted to India are unfounded. Instead, the chamber has said that Pakistan should allow imports from India of all tho se products which it is importing from other countries.

Furthermore, the chamber has said that dismantling the existing list of 600 specified items or enlarging the list to include all items of industrial raw materials, semi-finished goods, components and capital goods, would open up immense opportunities in bilateral trade between the two countries.

CII has pointed out that liberalising bilateral trade would also facilitate transfer of technology between the two countries in areas such as engineering, chemicals and petrochemicals sectors.

It has also highlighted the need to undertake measures for technical cooperation between the two countries. The statement points out that considerable interest has been observed in transfer of technology from India in the areas of research and developmen t for crop productivity, seed processing, food processing, preservation, storage and cold chains and auto components, among others.

Similarly, India could explore importing bulk items and light manufactured items from Pakistan such as fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, fish (frozen and fresh), sugar and molasses, electricity and precious and semi-precious stones.