ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Indian High Commissioner Dr T.C. Raghavan has said that Indians generally have a favourable opinion of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif because of his stance of furthering India-Pakistan relations.

Dr Raghavan also has expressed the hope that relaxation in visa rules for businesspeople of the two countries will help promote trade and commerce between them.

“A large number of people in both countries want better relations,” Dr Raghavan said during a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday.

The Indian high commissioner said that although the volume of trade between the two countries had improved over the years, there was still considerable room for improvement.

The Indian high commissioner said that shopping done by Indians visiting Pakistan showed there was high demand for Pakistani goods in India.

On the occasion, Senator Mr Ishaq Dar referred to a recent meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York and termed it good.

The finance minister said that Pakistan wanted good relations with India and the government led by Prime Minister Sharif wanted an early beginning of the composite dialogue process so that progress on all outstanding issues between them could be made.