ISLAMABAD: Commerce Secretaries of Pakistan and India are scheduled to resume trade talks in New Delhi on Jan 14. The meeting is to be held after a gap of 16 months.
The meeting is likely to agree on fresh timelines for implementing the roadmap for removing bottlenecks in trade liberalisation.
Minister of State for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan will arrive in New Delhi on Jan 16 to attend the Saarc Business Conclave starting the next day. Dastgir is expected to meet his Indian counterpart on the sidelines of the conclave.
After the secretary-level meeting, the two ministers are likely to announce new timelines for continuation of trade liberalisation talks.
Three issues are crucial for complete liberalisation of trade between India and Pakistan – opening of the Wagah border for importing more than 6,000 items from India as against the current 137, 24-hour clearance facility of goods at Wagah and containerisation of cargo. These 6,000 items are already importable through seaports.
An official said the government had decided in principle to agree on these issues, but it would be linked to reciprocal responses from India. If a fresh agreement is reached on trade through Wagah, he said, India would have to reduce its sensitive list by 30 per cent for Pakistan and other South Asian countries.
The items placed on the sensitive list of SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) cannot be considered for duty reduction. The removal of items from the list will enhance market access for Pakistani products.
