India, Pak taking all possible steps to normalise trade ties

New Delhi: India and Pakistan are taking all considered steps towards normalisation of trade relations between the two countries, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told the Rajya Sabha today.
In a reply during the Question Hour, Mr Sharma said,”India and Pakistan are taking all considered steps to move towards the normalisation of trade relations between the two countries.” Mr Sharma said that at the fifth round of Commerce Secretary level talks between the two countries, held on April 27-28, 2011 in Islamabad in Pakistan, both sides agreed to jointly work to more than double bilateral trade within three years, from current level of 2.7 billion US Dollars per annum to about six billion Dollars. At the talks, both sides agreed that the present visa regime for businesspersons was a significant barrier to the rapid expansion of trade. It was noted that India’s Ministry for Home Affairs and the interior Ministry of Pakistan had reached a broad understanding to put in place reciprocal arangements which shall substantially liberalise the visa provisions for businesspersons. Both sides also reached a broad understanding to enhance trade in petroleum products and put in place infrastructure for trade in electricity.