Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004
Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004 |
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India & World
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, AUG. 10. There is no hope of any major breakthrough at the two-day talks between India and Pakistan beginning tomorrow for enhancement of economic cooperation. The Union Commerce Secretary, Deepak Chatterjee, is leading the Indian delegation for the talks that would mark the conclusion of the first round of talks on all the eight subjects identified in the composite dialogue format. The interaction could at best help identify the innumerable opportunities for economic cooperation, as Pakistan is not in favour of better economic ties without resolution of Kashmir issue.
Project hanging fire
The proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India running through Pakistan is the only new area Islamabad is interested in now. The project has been hanging fire for several years as India has reservations about the safety of the pipeline. In the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in January India had said that it was ready to consider the pipeline if Pakistan reciprocated with the gesture of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) economic status. For political reasons, Pakistan has been reluctant to reciprocate the status unilaterally conferred on it by India in the 90s. To some extent the issue has become irrelevant after the SAARC summit adopted the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) from January 1, 2006. Despite the thaw, trade has not made much progress as exports from Pakistan to India during the last 11 months stood at around $80 million while imports from India to Pakistan amounted to $300 million. The average trade volumes were around $500 million while estimated trade through third countries was around $2 billion. At best, Pakistan could offer to expand the positive list (items which could be imported from India) from 618 to 700.
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