Pakistan, India can take trade up to $30bn if they improve ties: Indian High Commissioner

Published March 30, 2018
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria addresses audience at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. — DawnNewsTV
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria addresses audience at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. — DawnNewsTV

The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria, on Friday stressed the need to improve trade ties between the two neighbouring nations while addressing an event at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

Bisaria's statement comes at a time when relations between the two nuclear neighbours are at a low amid heightened tensions because of the latest incidents of harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India. A Pakistani delegation is also currently visiting India to discuss water issues.

The top Indian diplomat told the audience today that traders on both sides of the Indo-Pak border face visa issues which is among the reasons why the two sides have failed to actualise the potential $30 billion trade mark estimated by the World Bank.

Trade volume through a third country is greater while direct trade between India and Pakistan stands at only $2.2bn, Bisaria noted.

He stressed that the two sides will have to work together for a peaceful future and said that poverty and illiteracy are common enemies of both nations, adding that both sides need to improve mutual ties.

Bisaria also said that the policy of confrontation that has been going on for over 70 years has benefited no one and should be dropped in favour of one which is led by the large young population on both sides that is the furthest away from the bitter past.

The diplomat also expressed hope that cricket between the two nations would resume as relations normalise, since citizens on both sides want restoration of bilateral games.

He highlighted the role of media in ties between the two nations and said that reporting that is far from the truth adds to the problems.

Last week, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood had expressed similar sentiments for peace and said that both India and Pakistan must give their next generations a future of hope and opportunities.

Opinion

Editorial

IMF’s unease
Updated 24 May, 2024

IMF’s unease

It is clear that the next phase of economic stabilisation will be very tough for most of the population.
Belated recognition
24 May, 2024

Belated recognition

WITH Wednesday’s announcement by three European states that they intend to recognise Palestine as a state later...
App for GBV survivors
24 May, 2024

App for GBV survivors

GENDER-based violence is caught between two worlds: one sees it as a crime, the other as ‘convention’. The ...
Energy inflation
Updated 23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots is already tearing apart Pakistan’s social fabric.
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...