December 5, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 10, 1424

KATHMANDU, Dec 4: Pakistan and India have agreed on 500 products that would receive tariff concessions in another step towards a proposed free trade agreement for South Asia, it was announced here on Thursday.

The secretariat of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) said the 500 products, which were not specified, would figure on a list presented to foreign ministers ahead of a Saarc summit in Pakistan next month.

India and Pakistan agreed on tariffs ranging from 10 to 25 per cent on the 500 goods, which would be part of a South Asian free trade pact, the Saarc secretariat said in a statement from its Kathmandu headquarters.

In Pakistan, the foreign ministry said on Thursday that Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali endorsed the idea of a meeting of Saarc commerce secretaries on the free trade accord ahead of the January 4-6 summit in Islamabad.

South Asian leaders have long called for a free trade deal but the proposal has gone nowhere amid constant friction between India and Pakistan, the region’s two largest members.—AFP