NEW DELHI : Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has cancelled his proposed visit to Pakistan as the neighbouring country has not responded to India’s suggestion of normalising trade.
The minister was scheduled to visit Pakistan to inaugurate the ‘India Show’ in Lahore on February 14. He was also supposed to have bilateral meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Khurram Dastagir Khan the next day in Islamabad.
Sources said “as there was no movement from Pakistan side on India’s suggestions, the minister’s visit was called off”.
Sharma evaded a direct answer when asked about his proposed visit to Pakistan.
However, the three-day ‘India Show’, which is being planned by industry body Ficci, will be held as planned.
The Commerce Secretary in January-end had written a letter to his Pakistani counterpart demanding expeditious implementation of issues agreed upon by the two countries.
The three main agreed proposals are allowing trade of all goods through Wagah-Attari border, dismantling of the negative list of 1,209 items and bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) over a period of five years.
At present, only 137 items can be traded through Attari- Wagah land border. Pakistan had already missed the deadline to eliminate the negative list. Dismantling of the list would automatically lead to grant of Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India, though India for long has insisted on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Under SAFTA, India has also agreed to reduce its sensitive list of items to 100 from 614 in one year.
About 100 Indian companies are expected to participate in the show. It will be the second edition of the show where companies from sectors like power, hospitality, textiles and gems and jewellery would showcase their products.
The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 2.6 billion in 2012-13.
India’s main exports to Pakistan include sugar, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its imports comprise mineral and fuels, among others. (AGENCIES)
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