-- Pakistan, India agree to provide 'NDMA' on reciprocal basis
-- Visa regime being relaxed - Joint communique issued
Both sides hope closer integration of Pakistan with India's giant economy would help lay the ground for a lowering of political tensions between them. "We have agreed that we will open Wagah-Attari border 24/7 for trade," Anand Sharma, India's trade minister told reporters, referring to the main border crossing in Punjab. The border gates at the moment are open only from dawn to dusk.
Pakistan also agreed to provide non-discriminatory market access to Indian companies. Over the last year there was little movement on trade because of a series of incidents over military control of the line dividing Kashmir between the two countries. Two years ago, the two countries set a goal of taking bilateral trade to $6 billion by 2014, which now seems difficult to attain.
Pakistan's Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said the country's central bank had proposed its Indian counterpart grant banking licences to three Pakistani banks, a move which would be reciprocated by his side. "In the banking sector we are hoping to have some progress, very rapid progress," he said. Both Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif who took power last year are keen to rebuild ties.
Pakistan's economy grew at 3.6 percent in 2012/13 and the government was forced to borrow $6.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund to avert a default of payments. Sharma said he will lead a business delegation to Pakistan next month.
Commerce ministers of Pakistan and India have reaffirmed the commitment of their governments to expeditiously establish normal trading relations and in this context to provide Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA), on a reciprocal basis. The meeting between Commerce and Textile Industry Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan and his Indian counterpart Shri Anand Sharma on the margins of 5th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave was preceded by consultations at the level of the secretaries commerce of the two countries on matters related to economic and trade relations.
Khurram Datsgir visited India from January 16-18 to attend the conclave on the invitation of Anand Sharma, said a message received here from New Dehli. The ministers decided to intensify and accelerate the process of trade normalisation, liberalisation and facilitation and to implement the agreed measures before the end of next month.
They noted with satisfaction that arrangements have been implemented by both sides to keep the Wagah-Attari Land Customs Station operational seven days a week. The ministers emphasised the importance of trade facilitation measures and directed their respective ministries to work out modalities for containerisation of cargo, allowing all tradeable items by land route at Wagah, liberalisation of business visa regime and enhancing operational hours at Wagha and Attari and to consider such other measures as deemed necessary by the business communities of the two countries.
They agreed that both sides would convene the meetings of technical working groups of customs, railways, banking, standards organisations and energy to devise the modalities for effective implementation of all requisite measures. The ministers noted with satisfaction that there has been enhanced interaction between the business communities of both countries as several trade delegations have been received on either side.
A Joint Business Forum of Chief Executive Officers in different sectors has also met twice after the formation of the present Pakistan Government. Several sub-groups have been formed by this Joint Business Forum to enhance trade co-operation in diverse sector such as textiles, tourism, energy, light engineering, Pharmaceutical and others.
The third meeting of this Joint Business Forum is scheduled in Pakistan for mid-February. With the objective of enhancing bilateral trade opportunities, FICCI and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan are also co-ordinating an 'India Show" in Lahore in mid-February.
This will build upon the success that was achieved on the business front through the similar India Show in Lahore in February, 2012. It is envisaged that as part of the India Show activities, artists on both sides of the border will jointly create paintings to express the common heritage of the people of both countries. With the objective of promoting greater people to people contact, both sides have also agreed to organise a joint Vintage Car Rally between Amritsar and Lahore, to coincide with the coming 'India Show,' Anand Sharma accepted the invitation extended by Khurram Dastgir Khan to visit Pakistan in February.
"We have agreed that we will open Wagha-Attari border for trade 24X7...Central banks of the two countries in principally agreed to give banking licences to banks nominated by respective governments," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a press conference he held jointly with his Pakistani counterpart Khurram Dastagir Khan.
Anand Sharma said the Commerce Ministers of the two nations have agreed to have an NDMA on a reciprocal basis. He further said that both sides agreed to keep Wagha-Attari border open 24 hours throughout the year and facilitate the opening of bank branches in each other's country. The two sides also agreed to relax visa regime to facilitate travel of businessmen to each other's country with an aim to develop economic relations.
Speaking on this occasion, Khurram Dastagir Khan said Pakistan had been waiting for the Reserve Bank of India to nominate banks that could be allowed to open branches in Pakistan. Meeting after a gap of 16 months, the Commerce Ministers of the two nations have agreed to have an NDMA on reciprocal basis. Although the NDMA falls short of the expectations of a Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status which India has been insisting on for long, Sharma said, "it is not the first time that such a terminology (NDMA) is used".
Khurram Dastagir Khan, who is in New Delhi on an official visit, said: "Let us not (get) stranded on nomenclature." The two ministers also underlined the need for relaxing visa regime to facilitate travel of businessmen to each other's country. "For a robust economic relations to develop, businessmen of both sides need to visit each other's country. (There is) need for further liberalisation of visa regime," Sharma said.
As regards opening of branches, Khan said Pakistan has been waiting for the Reserve Bank of India to nominate banks that could be allowed to open branches in Pakistan. Meanwhile, in a joint communique issued after the meeting between commerce ministers of the two countries‚ the two sides also agreed to provide access without any discrimination to each other's market. It said the decisions taken in the meeting would be implemented by the end of this month.
The communique also expressed satisfaction over keeping the Wagah Border's custom post operational for the whole week. It was agreed that both the countries will hold a Nayab Car Rally between Lahore and Amritsar. They also agreed to finalise the procedure for technical working groups on banking‚ railways and custom. The communique further said that the Indian Commerce Minister will visit Pakistan next month. The third round of Pak-India joint business forum will take place in Pakistan in mid of next month.