Forging trade ties: Amin Fahim meets Indian PM in Delhi

Fahim and Indian PM agree to double bilateral trade to $6 billion annually from the current $2.7 billion by 2014.

NEW DEHLI: Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim met India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Monday in an effort to strengthen trade ties between the two countries, media reports said on Monday.

Delegates from both the countries also attended the meeting. India and Pakistan had earlier on September 29 agreed to open bank branches of the respective countries and new land routes to boost bilateral trade. They recently agreed to double bilateral trade to $6 billion annually from the current level of $2.7 billion by 2014, including a liberalised visa regime from November 2011 for business communities. Amin Fahim extended his three-day trip and visited Sufi shrines and other tourist spots. India and Pakistan may be home to some 1.4 billion people, but bilateral trade flows are paltry -- a legacy of mistrust between the South Asian neighbours.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2011.