Pak-India trade moot to take place on 4th

[Salman]

Pak-India trade moot to take place on 4th

LAHORE: With a view to promote free trade with India, Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) is organising a conference on ‘Pakistan-India Trade Potential’ in the city, to be held on Wednesday. Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif will preside over the event.

PBIT Vice Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail said the conference will not only touch upon the threats and opportunities that will come with free trade with India but will also discuss the practical roadmap of how free trade, which will include future plans of the federal government pertaining to visa regime, customs regulations, land and sea trade infrastructure, will be ensured.

Dr Ismail said that the Punjab government attached a lot of importance to the consultative process between stakeholders and the government for achieving a consensus on national issues that affect interests of businesses in Punjab.

Moreover, the government wants the stakeholders to completely understand the effects of opening up free trade with India.

“What are the implications of opening up our market to Indian exporters? Who will gain and who will lose from this trade? What can be done to take advantage from the opportunities that increased Pak-India trade will offer? These are some of the questions that need answering as we open up our market for Indian imports and hope to get access for our exports in India,” he said, adding, “This conference aims at answering these very questions because of which stakeholders from various segments of businesses in Punjab have also been invited to the event.”

The eminent participants of the conference include Federal Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood, Planning Commission Pakistan Deputy Chairman Nadeemul Haq and State Bank of Pakistan former governor Dr Ishrat Hussain as well as leading businessmen and top executives of various multinational companies from across the country.