LAHORE, March 21: Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday underlined the need of creating more conducive atmosphere to bring down the level of trust deficit in the India-Pakistan relations.

"Increased economic and trade interaction can help achieve this objective," he said while addressing the members of an Indian trade delegation at a local hotel here.

Leader of the delegation and Managing Director Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), K.V. Kamath, Chairman ICICI N. Vaghul, Vice-Chairman Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation, Basheer Janmohammed and Managing Director PICIC, Muhammad Ali Khoja were present on the occasion.

He said the construction of gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan might change the dynamics of economy in South Asia. "It will offer a win-win situation to all the partners i.e. Pakistan, India and Iran," he said.

He hoped that India would also be ready to join the gas pipeline project along with Pakistan and Iran. Shaukat Aziz said that Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline could help make the relations between the two countries more institutionalized.

He said that Indus Basin Treaty was an example of making the relations more institutionalized as the treaty had been observed by the two nations despite all the problems over the last four decades.

On the risk factors perceived by the Indians vis-a-vis gas pipeline, he said that there were many risk mitigation techniques to address such things. He said that there was a need of cooperation between India and Pakistan in the field of travel and tourism.

He said that Pakistan was committed to moving on the path of peace with its neighbours like India. He said that it was time to resolve all the issues including Kashmir to help improve relations between the two countries.

He said that India and Pakistan would have to join hands in war against poverty and hunger. He said Pakistan had launched a crash programme to encourage private sector to build more hotels. -APP