ISLAMABAD,February16 2012(AFP): Officials from Pakistan and India said Wednesday their central banks will meet next month in India to discuss opening bank branches in eachothers’ countries for the first time since independence.Commerce ministers of South Asian nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan held talks in Islamabad to discuss normalisation of trade between the two countries. “On issue of opening of bank branches of both countries, it was informed that both central banks are scheduled for meeting in Mumbai in first fortnight of March, 2012,” they said in a joint statement issued after the talks. The talks were held on the invitation of Pakistan commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and his Indian counterpart Anand Sharma along with a delegation of more than 100 businesses visiting Pakistan between February 13-16. “We are looking at doing more including the opening of the bank branches, for which the two (central) banks are in dialogue and structural and institutional framework will be put in place soon,” Sharma told reporters. The joint statement said the two countries have now initialed three agreements on customs cooperation, mutual recognition and redress of trade grievances agreements to boost the confidence of business community.
The agreements will mean the two countries systematically address issues related to non-tariff barriers, it said.
India has long wanted a new trade passage established with its neighbour and the possibility of opening the Munabao-Khokhrapar route in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province will be explored, the statement said. Deepening economic engagement between the two countries, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, is seen as crucial to establishing lasting peace in the troubled South Asian region. In 1996, India granted Pakistan “most preferred nation” status which is intended to remove discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs. Pakistan agreed in principle to grant a similar status to India last year, paving the way for a radical reorganisation of trade. At present, Pakistan maintains a list of 1,945 items allowed to run from India to Pakistan — but only 108 can be transported directly by road through the Wagah border in Punjab. Major items of export from India to Pakistan are sugar, cotton, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its top imports from Pakistan include fruit, mineral fuels, and organic chemicals.
The agreements will mean the two countries systematically address issues related to non-tariff barriers, it said.
India has long wanted a new trade passage established with its neighbour and the possibility of opening the Munabao-Khokhrapar route in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province will be explored, the statement said. Deepening economic engagement between the two countries, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, is seen as crucial to establishing lasting peace in the troubled South Asian region. In 1996, India granted Pakistan “most preferred nation” status which is intended to remove discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs. Pakistan agreed in principle to grant a similar status to India last year, paving the way for a radical reorganisation of trade. At present, Pakistan maintains a list of 1,945 items allowed to run from India to Pakistan — but only 108 can be transported directly by road through the Wagah border in Punjab. Major items of export from India to Pakistan are sugar, cotton, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its top imports from Pakistan include fruit, mineral fuels, and organic chemicals.
No comments:
Post a Comment