KARACHI, Dec 11: India and Pakistan are going to sign shipping protocol on Thursday which will allow flag ships of both the countries to carry third country cargo from each other’s ports.

Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri is leaving for New Delhi on Wednesday to sign the amended shipping protocol.

In the meanwhile, an advance party headed by Director General Ports and Shipping Captain Anwar Shah along with private sector representatives left on Monday for India.

This protocol will restore direct shipping links between the two neighbours after a lapse of 35 years. It is expected to give a fillip to ship owning in Pakistan and offer an opportunity to grab a share in 4.5 million tons annual turnover of Indian ship cargo, official sources told Dawn on Monday.

Both the countries initiated moves to amend the protocol in 2003. The Indian cabinet last month approved the proposed amendments in the Pakistan-India Shipping Protocol whereas Islamabad gave its approval about eight months back.

Shipping circles believe that this is a very important move since it will increase the volume of trade and eventually bring down shipping rates in the region.Recently Pakistan has recently added 202 more items on the positive list for imports from India and trade circles say that once the shipping links are restored the trade volume will rise from $1.2 billion to $2 billion.

The protocol is expected to accelerate the private sector participation in the shipping sector, generate employment opportunities and help reduce poverty, shipping circles said.