January 17, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 16, 1426

LAHORE, Jan 16: President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mian Shafqat Ali has said that without addressing the core issue between Pakistan and India, trade matters would not be moving in the desired direction.

Addressing a 19-member Indian delegation on Monday, he said that the recent people-to-people interaction has greatly increased, but the major breakthrough in relations could come only through resolving outstanding issues between the two countries.

LCCI’s senior vice president Abdul Basit, vice president Aftab Ahmad Vohra and former president Mian Tajamal Hussain were also present at the meeting.

Mian Shafqat said that the trade between India and Pakistan had been at the bare minimum level and has averaged around $415 million over the past 5 years with balance of trade always in favour of India.

The informal trade between India and Pakistan through third country destinations, like Dubai and Singapore, has, however, ranged between $1.5 to 2 billion per annum. This shows the potential of bilateral trade between the two countries.

He said that the geo-strategic location of Pakistan and India was ideal for accessing international markets. The enhanced business and trade ties between the regional states could help end poverty from this region.

The LCCI chief pointed out that increasing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries had crucial significance for South Asia.

Speaking on the occasion, the leader of the Indian delegation, Sanjiv Bawa, suggested that Pakistan and India should form a joint working group to finalize modalities for expediting trade as both the countries have lot of potential in a number of fields.

He said that the credit, for bringing the people of the Indian and Pakistani Punjab closer, goes to the chief ministers of both the provinces. He said that the Indian business community was ready to initiate joint ventures with Pakistani businessmen, but the need of the hour is to take practical and pragmatic steps to materialize the things.

Mr Bawa suggested that both sides should make proper arrangements for the exchange of sector-specific information as due to the non-availability of such information they are unable to utilize each other’s potential.

He also spoke about procedural bottlenecks in issuance of visa and said that the visa procedures need to be simplified.

He lauded the role of the Lahore Chamber in making the Indian business delegations’ visit to Pakistan possible and provide a first hand knowledge about the ongoing projects at the economic front.—APP