Pak-India Ties Improvement Good Omen For Region: PBF

Muhammad Irfan Published March 29, 2021 | 07:40 PM

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Mar, 2021 ) :The Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Monday said that the recent trajectory of Pak-India relations could be a welcome development not only for both countries but also the region.

Talking to the media, PBF Vice President Ahmad Jawad said: "You can change friends but not neighbours." Amid signs of bonhomie, India few days back signaled that it was ready to resume trade with Pakistan, which the latter had unilaterally stopped almost two years ago.

In the year 2020, India's exports to Pakistan dipped 76.3% to $283 million, while imports plummeted 96.2% to just $2.5 million.

According to a 2013 study, titled 'Normalising India-Pakistan Trade' by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, estimated the trade potential between India and Pakistan in the range of $11 billion-$20 billion.

Jawad said mostly share of India and Pakistan trade had been informal consistently, adding that if their trade and commerce relations stabilise, it would augment the formal trade and both the nations could develop and prosper, paving the way for trade and business that eventually would lessen poverty and unemployment in both the countries.

He said that the present positive developments might provide a golden opportunity for both the nations to start dialogue, opening of the doors to enhance the bilateral, social, political and economic relations. "It is a fact that India-Pakistan relations will have significant impact on stability in Asia and on the global order," he added.

He said that apart from the revival of trade, both countries could also resume greater people-to-people contact, especially in religious tourism, adding that in September 2020, Pakistan announced that it would be starting religious tourism packages for both Hindus and Sikhs.

The PBF hoped that Kahsmir would be taken care in the new peace engagements. Ideally, Pakistan and India should move to pick up peace negotiations from where they had been left off in 2007.