The Hindu : Business : Economic ties depend upon political will, says Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 26, 2005

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Business

Economic ties depend upon political will, says Musharraf

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Lingering disputes should be addressed simultaneously, he tells FICCI delegation

— Photo: R. V. Moorthy

FOR A STRONGER BOND: The Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, meeting with the Indian business delegation led by FICCI President, Onkar S. Kanwar, at the President's House in Islamabad on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, said that India and Pakistan would have to move forward on disputes resolution for a mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation.

Addressing a delegation of Indian businessmen led by the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI), Onkar S. Kanwar, Gen. Musharraf maintained that with "political will and sincerity" the two countries could overcome their political disputes and improve their relations rapidly.

The 100-member delegation is on a six-day tour of Pakistan. A study commissioned by FICCI on India-Pakistan economic relations, which projects the trade potential around $5 billion against the current level of $400 million, is the basis for the interaction. After spending two days in Karachi, the delegation arrived here this morning. They will return to India on May 27 after a visit to Lahore.

Besides Gen. Musharraf, the delegation met among others, the Prime Minister, Shaukaz Aziz, Commerce Minister, Humayun Akthar Khan, and Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri. In the course of the meetings, the delegation highlighted a seven-point agenda to boost trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Trade barriers

Much to the delight of the delegation, the meeting with Gen. Musharraf stretched to 80 minutes and they found him `very responsive' to the FICCI formulations.

The crux of the case made out by FICCI is that dismantling trade and tariff barriers would enable the two South Asian giants to reap the benefits of faster economic growth and expedite the process of regional integration.

"We have to move forward on the political front effectively for dispute resolution and also simultaneously look for developing trade and economic ties to the benefit of both countries," Gen. Musharraf told the delegation.

He expressed the hope that the two countries would not repeat the past mistake of brushing the underlying causes of tension under the carpet and would resolve their disputes. "The past accords between the countries failed as they did not address the lingering disputes and brushed them under the carpet — let us not do it again," he said.

Referring to the Pakistan-India peace process, the Pakistan President said he had found Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to be sincere in his intentions. "But we cannot guarantee the same degree of harmony between the future leadership," he said underlining the importance of grasping the peace opportunity.

President Musharraf described South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) as an important development for enhancing regional trade cooperation. At the same time, he maintained that amity between the two countries was essential for substantive cooperation. South Asia, he noted, also had to expand its trade with other Asian regions, including Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and China, which have progressed way ahead.

The Commerce Minister and senior representatives of the Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) were also present on the occasion.

Mr. Kanwar told reporters that "augmenting business-to-business cooperation between the two countries is uppermost on FICCI's agenda, a priority that would pave the way for the policymakers in India and Pakistan to remove infrastructural bottlenecks and improve the business and economic environment."

Seven areas identified

Business Beyond Borders, a study on India Pakistan Economic Relations, conducted by FICCI on the eve of the delegation's visit, reveals that the impact of the launch of SAFTA and its implementation in earnest, has the potential of putting India-Pakistan trade on a much higher growth trajectory and raise total bilateral trade turnover from $400 million to $5 billion."

The study has identified seven areas that need to be tackled upfront to remove the irritants in the way of bilateral trade and unleash the `animal spirits' of the entrepreneurs of the two countries. These include de-freezing of the list of items (now limited to 768 items) importable from India; liberalising business visa regulations; opening up trade in services; highway linkage between the two countries; linking of rail services; road route via the Wagah border and dismantling of trade and tariff barriers.

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