Kolkata, March 18 (IANS) India and Pakistan need to narrow down the list of their sensitive tradable items and work towards improving non-trade barriers to boost commerce in both countries, Pakistan's High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit said here on Wednesday.
"... (there are) 1,209 tariff lines which India cannot export to Pakistan. Under the sensitive list, which is the India sensitive list, we cannot export to India 614 items.
"So there is also a list which needs to be reduced to 100 -- from the Indian side from over 600 to 100 and from the Pakistan side from 1,209 to 100 as allowed under SAFTA," he told media persons at an event organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce.
Under the present conditions, Pakistan allows 137 items which can be imported from India through the land route via the Wagah border.
"We need to work on non-tariff barriers as well as how to synchronise our standards, customs procedures, how to create facilitation centres... these are all the things we need to think through," he said.
According to Basit, India-Pakistan trade presently accounts for $2.7 billion and has a potential to scale up to $15-20 billion in the coming 5-10 years.
The envoy said the private sector in both counties was making strides to promote trade.
"(The) private sector is working very hard to come up with tenable, plausible solutions to our (India's and Pakistan's) economic problems including tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers, sensitive list, South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)".
He said the Pakistan-India Joint Business Forum (PIJBF) was working actively towards promoting trade and commerce across the border.
"They (PIJBF) have already established 10 task forces in 10 different fields and they are preparing recommendations and their fifth meeting is to be held in Pakistan hopefully.
"The task forces will submit their recommendations and then when our official engagement is resumed, those recommendations will be taken by both governments," he said.
Basit also expressed optimism about the upcoming South Asia Economic Conclave scheduled in May this year in India where all countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation will participate.
Pakistan Crisis: Lale of bread in Pakistan, distribution of flour in the deployment of security forces; One killed in stampede
The people of Pakistan who are facing an economic crisis have run out of bread. Due to the skyrocketing price of flour, stampedes have been reported at several places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and
PMI: Growth in India's manufacturing sector continues in February, with output almost the same as in January
The pace of growth in the country's manufacturing sector continued in February with new orders and production remain the same as in January. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing
PM Modi from Jayanagar responded to Didi's statement of Cool Cool, including visit to Bangladesh, said - BJP in Bengal is BJP
Jayanagar, Agencia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing one rally after another on Thursday. During the day, he addressed an election rally in Kokrajhar, Assam. Now where they have reached
Aparajita Bill: Anti-rape bill passed unanimously by Bengal Assembly, provision for death penalty or life imprisonment till last breath
The anti-rape bill was introduced in the Bengal Assembly today i.e. on Tuesday, which was passed unanimously. This bill provides for the death penalty to the person guilty of rape and the death of the
Taliban fear in Afghanistan: Taliban is forcibly marrying girls of Hazara community; People are sending young daughters to Kabul out of fear
On 8 August 1998, Taliban fighters started creating chaos as soon as they entered Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Wherever he got shot, thousands of people of the Hazara community were selectively killed
Now you can pay with WhatsApp; NPCI allowed to launch UPI based system in India
New Delhi: Now you can transfer money through WhatsApp in the country. WhatsApp has been allowed to launch UPI based payment service in India. According to the report, the National Payment Corporation
Know about these cheap Smartphones of the country, the price is less than 10000 rupees
New Delhi: If you are planning to buy a smartphone these days and your budget is low, then there is no need to worry. There are such smartphones of all companies in the market, whose price can fit
Bihar: 'Chhote Sarkar' veto made the accused of kidnapping law minister, knows everything about Kartikeya Singh
Within 24 hours of the oath of Nitish Kumar's new cabinet, one of his ministers has been embroiled in controversy. A minister of Nitish is accused of breaking the law. He has none other than the law
There will be 3 waves of corona in China: 1 million deaths expected next year; People are still hesitant about the vaccine
After the end of strict restrictions in China, the cases of corona are increasing once again. Two thousand patients were confirmed here on Sunday, but experts believe that this figure will increase
Investigation: Where did Corona come from, spread in 2019 or research was going on for 16 years, why the allegations against Shi Zhengli, know everything
The whole world is currently in the grip of the Coronavirus. Every country in the world is suffering from this pandemic. In such a situation, a US scientist has clearly said that if Covid-26 and
