ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath here on Monday termed the volume of bilateral trade between his country and Pakistan as dismal urging the people and business community on both sides to make their governments improve commercial relations.

Mr Nath stated this while responding to queries of newsmen and businessmen here at a reception hosted in his honour by the Indo-Pak Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Pakistan and India, he said, faced common challenges of rural poverty and unemployment. "Both belong to the same stock". However, in terms of bilateral trade, they would have to strive more, he said.

With its about 150 million population, Pakistan's trade stood at $25 billion, he said. India having over one billion people had a trade volume of $175 billion. The total trade of both the countries touched $200 billion, however, their bilateral trade could hardly touch $350 million, Mr Nath said.

"This is very very dismal and needs serious corrections", he said. The economic uplift of both the countries, he said, was more dependent on bilateral trade and not mere on the WTO regime.

Because, there were more than 200 bilateral agreements signed by various countries as compared to the sole multilateral WTO. There were more bilateral agreements than the number of countries.

About 60 per cent of the world trade, he said, was still dependent on bilateral agreements, he said. The South Asian countries, he said, had the "dynamic and only platform" of Saarc. Sapta, he said, could play a crucial role in the future trade in the region. One fifth of humanity lived in the Saarc countries and had a greater potential.

Responding to a question regarding improving relations between India and Pakistan, he said, the perception and yearning of the new generation in both the countries were different as compared to their elders. The non issues in the past were now issues and vice versa, he said.

"We (the people and business community in India and Pakistan) have the baggage of history and we are the trustee of the future generations and not our bureaucracy", he said.

Talking about India's non-tariff barriers, he said, India had the national trade barriers in order to protect the interests of its large number of rural poor. There were no Pakistan specific non-tariff barriers, he said.

When asked that Pakistani export to India could have been doubled had there were no non-tariff barriers in India. Mr Nath said the duty structure of India had come down to the Asean level, which was about 10 to 15 percent. India gave no wheat specific subsidy, but also gave it on water, etc., which was called the rural development subsidy.

India was restructuring its subsidy on fertilisers in accordance with the WTO norms, he said. The South Asian countries, he said, had to prepare for the future challenges and should promote regional trade, because, in the next 20 years, economies would be determined region wise and not country wise.

The SAARC member countries, he said, had to be prepared for and fight jointly the non-tariff barriers being imposed by the developed world including the European Union and US to block the export of developing countries.

He also hoped that the visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to India would further improve trade ties between the two countries. President of the Indo-Pak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ilyas Bilour said after the award of the Most Favoured Nation Status to Pakistan by India, Pakistan could not reciprocate due to its certain reservations.

About Pakistan's Sunday decision to expand the list of importable items from India to another 81 categories, he said, the list issued on Sunday had been decided two years back and there was a need of direct trade between the two countries, he observed.