New Delhi
9 August 2005
India and Pakistan on Tuesday decided to cut short the trade talks
by a day but not before agreeing to revise their pacts on civil aviation and shipping. Both
sides agreed for a memorandum of understanding between Securities and Exchange
Board of India and the Pakistan stock market watchdog.
The Indian side led by Commerce Secretary SN Menon and the Pakistani team led by
their acting commerce secretary Syed Asif Shah decided to enhance cooperation in
banking sector as also insurance support for exporters to boost trade. The talks were
earlier scheduled to continue on Wednesday but were concluded in a single day.
"There is some forward movement on improving air and sea links for which fresh civil
aviation and shipping agreements would be entered into," official sources said after the
end of commerce secretary-level trade talks. Technical groups from both sides will be
meeting next month to thrash out the fresh agreements, they said.
With a view to enhance cooperation in various financial sector and capital markets, both
sides agreed for a memorandum of understanding between Securities and Exchange
Board of India and the Pakistan stock market watchdog. The sub group on customs and
trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers would meet in September.
The trade talks were held after India and Pakistan agreed last week to the proposed
agreement on prenotification of missile tests. That was followed up by an agreement on
Monday to continue the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir and other conventional
confidence building measures.
Business leaders have long said there is vast potential for expanding commercial ties
between India and Pakistan, which together have some 1.2 billion people. Progress on
cross-border trade, however, has been deadlocked by the Jammu and Kashmir problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment