New Delhi: Welcoming Pakistan's policy initiative to liberalise bilateral trade, India on Wednesday said the move would open business opportunities by providing market access to Indian goods in the neighbouring country.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said that the development reaffirmed the commitment of both the governments for trade normalisation.
Pakistan has unanimously approved a proposal to switch over to a negative list regime for trade with India and phase it out by the year-end as part of measures to fully normalise bilateral economic ties.
According to sources, the move will allow Pakistan to import some 6,800 items from India. At present, Pakistan allows import of only 1,946 Indian items, listed in the positive list.
"This will mark a dramatic shift in the lines that can be traded as now almost 90 per cent items can be traded with Pakistan as opposed to 17 per cent earlier," Sharma said in a release.
It would translate into a huge opportunity for Indian businessmen who will be able to ship all but few items to a 150 million Pakistani market through land, air and sea routes.
"I am happy that this has been achieved. We believe that strengthening economic engagement between India and Pakistan lies at the heart of building enduring peace and stability in this region. Flourishing trade is the biggest confidence building measure among any two nations," Sharma said.
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