“Shared economic relations between India and Pakistan can bring peace and prosperity to the region,” said SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik during a luncheon hosted by British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr. Tibber, in honour of Director for South Asia Andrew Patrick.
He said in the current economic scenario the leading players of South Asia will have to change their mindset and work towards helping the large number of poor people in their countries.
“The enormous potential of the region is not reflected by a trade volume of $2.5 billion,” said Malik. SAARC CCI Secretary General Muhammad Iqbal Tabish said that a cautious mindset has created misconception about mutual economic benefits that the two countries can achieve, which has influenced South Asia as a whole.
He added that on account of non-cooperation, the countries are paying 35 per cent extra cost of trade logistics. The available potential for bilateral trade between India and Pakistan is estimated at $10 billion whereas only $2.5 billion were achieved in 2010-2011.