To give an example of the tangible gains that have been realised so far, it may be noted that while cross-border trade carried out through the Wagah route was only worth Rs 6.5 billion in 2007, this had already reached Rs 15 billion in 2010-11, in less than a year since the resumption of the composite dialogue. With the recent developments that have taken place at Wagah border such as the new Integrated Check Post, it is expected that Indo Pak trade will reach $10 billion within the next few years, which will be a significant improvement over the existing level of around $2.5 billion.
In fact, it goes to the credit of the business community on both sides of the border that has supported the revitalisation of ties at every stage, and has supported the political leadership in taking bold initiatives to restart the process of dialogue.
Since its inception, the India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been fully involved in informing both the Governments about the advantages that may be realised if more trade takes between the two countries. IPCCI is the result of a MoU signed between the two national chambers, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), whereby it is the sole representative body of the private sector of both countries.
In particular, the Pakistan Chapter of IPCCI has played a very active role in apprising the Government of Pakistan about the impediments that are faced by Pakistani traders when they wish to conduct business with their counterparts in India. In this respect, IPCCI Pakistan Chapter recently held a meeting at FPCCI Head Office in Karachi prior to the visit of the Indian Commerce Secretary to Pakistan. I would like to mention below some of the key points that were raised, and what progress has subsequently been made in the Commerce Secretary Talks held earlier this month.
1 One of the biggest impediments to increasing the level of trade has been the problem of securing business visas for Pakistani businessmen who wish to travel to India to meet their counterparts. Therefore, businessmen on both sides of the border have welcomed the new liberal visa policy announced earlier this year, whereby the need for police reporting has been removed, and the restriction of city-specific visas has also been relaxed considerably. The business community of Pakistan now eagerly awaits implementation of this policy. During the visit of the Indian Secretary Commerce to Pakistan, there has been some further progress on this issue. The Government of India has announced that there will be two categories of businessmen; small businessmen and large businessmen who may wish to travel to India, for whom separate rules will apply. There are some proposals to define these two categories, but the final definition is yet to be decided.
2 Another matter which is a serious hindrance to trade is the lack of banking channel between the two countries, and the business community urges an early resolution of this issue. The recent announcement that two Pakistani banks will soon open their branches in India is a welcome step, but it is suggested that the pending application of other Pakistani banks may also be expedited.
3. The limited availability of flights linking the two countries is a severe nuisance to Pakistani traders who may wish to travel to India. Until last month, there were two weekly flights from Karachi to Mumbai, two from Lahore to Delhi and one flight linking Karachi with Delhi. Therefore, we are very happy to hear that one more flight linking Karachi to Delhi has been restarted this month. Furthermore, all the six weekly flights are being operated by PIA. Hence the business community of Pakistan would like to suggest that Indian carriers, both private as well as public, may wish to consider starting flights to Pakistan, in view of the fact that the demand for air travel will increase exponentially, once the new visa policy comes into force. At the same time, a flight linking the two capital cities, Islamabad and Delhi, is proposed.
4 India and Pakistan presently only have High Commissions in the capital cities, which makes the process of securing visas very hard for businessmen who do not live in Delhi or Islamabad. Unfortunately, the two countries do not have Deputy High Commissions in Karachi and Mumbai, which is the cause of severe inconvenience for businessmen situated in these cities. Therefore, it is good to hear the this issue was also discussed during the visit of the Indian Secretary Commerce to Pakistan this month, and both countries have agreed to consider opening DHCs in Mumbai and Karachi soon, to facilitate people on both sides of the border.
5 Another important issue that has been raised by the business community of Pakistan is the need for mutual recognition of the certificates of the national standardisation bodies of both countries, ie, the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, and the Bureau of Indian Standards. It may be noted that under SAFTA, there must be harmonisation of certification issued by member countries. This means that certificates of either national body should be accepted reciprocally. In what may be seen as a sign of gradually improving commercial ties, we have learnt that the two countries have recently signed an agreement whereby the issue of certification requirements will be addressed.
The Pakistan Chapter of the India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has kept the Government of Pakistan abreast of all these issues, and we are happy to note that there has been some important progress on the issues identified above. However, there still remain some issues on which progress has not been satisfactory: for instance, allowing international cellular phone roaming to facilitate each others' businessmen, opening more road trading routes with India, augmenting the Lahore-Delhi bus service, allowing for a direct courier service between the two countries, and allowing road trade to take place using containers.
It is hoped that both governments will pay attention to these issues as well, in addition to implementation of the decisions taken above. This is because it is only when the business community of both the countries is able to trade more and more that prosperity will be achieved in this region, which has some of the lowest socio-economic indicators of the world. I wish both the countries success in achieving higher trade targets set by the two governments, and look forward to the day when we will be able to share the fruits of mutual respect, friendship and a better standard of living.