NEW DELHI, July 30: India and Pakistan will resume their trade talks on Tuesday, exploring New Delhi’s ideas about more bilateral trade through their existing rail links. Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary Syed Asif Shah, who is due in New Delhi on Monday, says he is coming with hope and an open mind.
Pakistani officials said India has added the Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link to its shopping list at the talks to be led by its Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai. They said Pakistan on its part would seek to correct the imbalance in trade which it feels is heavily tilted in India’s favour.
Press Trust of India said the two countries were expected to move forward on establishing fibre optic telecom link, allowing banks to open branches and increasing trade volume via the Atari rail link. Pakistan has indicated it may not be ready for the Rajasthan-Sindh trade corridor yet chiefly for want of agreeable infrastructure.
The agenda includes not only widening the trade basket, but encompasses services like use of IT in medicine and export insurance, the PTI said.
India is pushing for export of tea to Pakistan while Islamabad wants to sell its cement in India. They will also discuss ways to improve transport of molasses by wagons. The two countries will deliberate on protecting Basmati rice from unauthorised patenting by way of getting joint registration with the WTO under the ‘Geographical Indications'.
