ISLAMABAD, April 14: Having refused to use the Saarc sidelines three times in the last four months for removing the hurdles in the way of improving bilateral relations India continues to hold Pakistan responsible for lack of progress on bilateral trade.
In a wide-ranging interview with Dawn on the Indian economy, the just concluded Saarc ministerial conference and bilateral economic relations with Pakistan, Mr Pant, India’s Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission who was here last week to participate in the two-day Saarc finance and planning ministers conference, defended India’s policy of liberalising bilateral trade relations with almost all its neighbours outside the Saarc arrangement and held Islamabad responsible for the absence of such an arrangement with Pakistan.
When asked why the two countries did not use the three opportunities provided by Saarc conferences since January to remove the hurdles in the way of improving their bilateral economic relations, Mr Pant took refuge in India’s stated position that bilateral issues were excluded from multilateral meetings.
He said the answer to the question was in the question itself when asked why the two countries did not use these three occasions to get together at least on the sidelines of Saarc to talk about the problems hindering improved economic relations.
“We have given Pakistan the most favoured nation status while Pakistan has not reciprocated so far,” said Mr Pant.
He believed that his country’s special bilateral trade arrangements with its Southern and Eastern neighbours were aimed at actualizing SEPTA and SAFTA and these bilateral arrangements would eventually become multilateral.”
“I think we are trying to do what we can. But there has to be willingness on the part of everybody. With Pakistan it is not moving. We would like to see it moving. That is why I mentioned President Musharraf’s positive input in the conference. He gave his full support to proposals for moving forward from SAPTA to SAFTA and his support for this idea was an important element of his speech,” Mr Pant added
When asked about his impressions on the just concluded two-day conference he said what emerged was the commonality of the problems.
“The settings are different, they are not identical in all respects but by and large a certain section of the people are living below the poverty line and answers have to be found and, while the contours may differ in individual countries, certain things are common. For instance, the rate of growth alone is not the answer, the structure of growth, the pattern of growth and whom the growth benefits have to be taken into account. In the same way the quantum of resources that we invest alone is not the answer, what is the efficiency of the utilization of the investment, how much of it is actually reaching the persons, the intended beneficiaries, becomes important and then the question of governance comes in, the question of delivery system comes in, the question of leakages come in. So I found that these are more or less common problems and these were highlighted,” he said.
He further said that the question of market access to developed countries, the impact of WTO, of the intellectual property rights and the way which our exports are sought to be obstructed one way or the other are to be looked into as well.
