KARACHI: Commerce minister on Thursday said political tension between Pakistan and neighbouring India has brought to a halt the ongoing bilateral talks on trade liberalisation.
“Terrorism-related incidents stopped the ongoing process of trade liberalisation,” said Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, speaking at the opening ceremony of Pakistan’s first 4-day textile exhibition – TEXPO 2016.
The textile fair, organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), will be concluding on 10 April.
Minister Khan said trade between the two countries continues unabated through sea routes from Karachi and border crossing from Lahore.
In 2014, Pakistan and India agreed to permit 24-hour transportation of containers and trucks through their main Attari-Wagah border in the Punjab.
The governments of the two countries were eyeing six billion dollar bilateral trade volume and eager to bring to an end the unofficial trade, which eats into their revenue and impedes economic growth. But, the attack at the Pathankot Indian Air Force base earlier this year frustrated their plan and hamstrung the bilateral trade activities.
Minister Khan said both the countries have initiated dialogues to improve trade in 2010. These talks focused on eliminating non-discriminatory market access and liberalising trade. The latest official talks at foreign secretary level between the two countries were held late last year.
The minister said Pakistan is also planning a single country exhibition in India next year, “but it will depend on the security situation.”
On TEXPO 2016, he said the fair will help Pakistan improve its exports. He observed that a large number of foreign companies and delegates had participated in the exhibition. Around 400 companies and delegates from 60 countries are participating in the first sector-specific exhibition.
“But, the number is below the expectation, due to Lahore terror act,” the minister added. Last week, a bomb blast killed hundreds of people and injured many in the city.
The minister further said the government is focusing regional markets to improve the country’s exports. He said cost on manufactured goods in Pakistan is comparatively lower than other regional markets.
Talking about the appointment of commercial officers, he said the fresh batch has been appointed after appropriate training, including product knowledge and market specifics.
A day earlier, an informal inauguration ceremony for TEXPO 2016 was held at the Governor House Karachi.
On the occasion, the commerce minister said the exhibition will improve demand of Pakistan’s textile products.
He acknowledged that the textile sector is facing difficulties due to energy shortage. The government is endeavouring to meet the energy demand. The government has been successful in importing liquefied natural gas from Qatar to overcome energy crisis, he added.
Minister Khan said the generalised scheme of preferences plus status helped the country increase its textile exports by 33 percent. Value added sector majorly contributed to this, he added.
Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad said half of Pakistan exports comprise of textile products.
Ibad said Pakistan is the world’s third largest country in terms of cotton exports after China and India. He agreed that the textile exhibition would help in increasing Pakistan’s exports.
Chief Executive SM Muneer of TDAP said several countries depreciated their currencies to jack up exports.
Muneer said India suffered 22 percent decline in exports.
He said the authority is working to enhance the exports and in this connection many exhibitions have been organised. TDAP chief termed the trade policies quite satisfactory. He lauded the government for adopting good economic policies, which helped in increasing foreign exchange reserves.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/111001-India-Pakistan-standoff-halts-trade-liberalisation-talks
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