India will develop state-of-the-art facilities at Attari, near Amritsar, by May 2011 to help exporters ship goods to Pakistan. Responding to issues related to infrastructural bottlenecks raised by exporters at the business session on the ‘synergies of bilateralism’, a commerce ministry official, P K Choudhary, said that government will set up modern, integrated facilities at the India-Pakistan border at Attari.
The development will include warehouses and other facilities so that Indians do not face problems in exporting goods across the border. Delegates from both Pakistan and India had earlier raised various issues affecting trade between the two countries.
In his address, the former governor of State Bank of Pakistan, Ishrat Hussain , who is at present working as dean of IBA, said that Pakistan is suffering from the absence of uniform policies on the external front. “As governments change, the country’s stand on globalization also changes. This has affected foreign investors’ confidence in the country’s policy.”
On water resources, he was of the opinion that both countries should work together to optimize its usage. He also suggested that connectivity between the two countries should be improved to push trade. Apart from infrastructure, he called for improved banking infrastructure between the two countries.
Later, speaking on the issues and opportunities in the textiles sector, MD of Associated Industries (garment), Pakistan , Wajid Jawad, said both the neighbours should bury past differences and move ahead. He said that Indian and Pakistani companies have decided to set up a study group to resolve problems of trade between the two countries. Jawad, a former Pakistan minister, said the main focus of the group was to identify nontariff barriers, which both the governments have created over a period of time.
The Pakistani delegates also raised the issue of textiles not being accorded the MFN status. Textiles constitute 60% of the export of Pakistan. Advisor to Arvind Ltd, Naishadh Parikh, said at present though India’s share in global trade is 25% but because of China, its share has start ed declining. If India partners with Pak istan, the situation can be arrested.
The chairman of CII National Com mittee on Agriculture, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, said that India can be a huge market for Pakistani agricultural prod ucts. He also said that both the gov ernments should start export of agri cultural products, which would help farmers. The chairman of Agrimall in Pakistan, Afaq Tiwana, said that as In dia and Pakistan are neighbours, they can sell their surpluses to each other more profitably than if they were to sell them to some distant trade partners He said that Pakistan will become sur plus in urea, which is in great demand in India.
Therefore, India can import it from Pakistan at more competitive prices.
Ravi Dhariwal, CEO, Publishing, The Times of India Group, who chaired the session, said that cooperation between the countries will help each other in ad dressing the bigger problems of pover ty and illiteracy that they are facing.
Courtesy: Times of India
