Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday called for promotion of Pakistan-India trade and warned that non-state actors were determined to harm the bilateral peace process.
Addressing a conference of Pakistani and Indian business tycoons, the prime minister said the two sides must remain vigilant to thwart elements that could endanger the peace process that resumed last year. The two-day economic conference is being organised by Jang Group and Times of India.
The prime minister said improving relations with India was Pakistan’s policy and both countries would have to learn a lesson from history. “Illiteracy and poverty must not be the destiny of people of Pakistan and India,” Gilani remarked. He said non-state elements were common enemies of both the countries and they would have to be defeated.
“I must caution that recent successes do not mean that we should become complacent. We face many challenges and threats from forces inimical to peace,” he said. A thirty-member delegation of Indian business leaders is attending the India-Pakistan Joint Business Council and exploring ways to promote trade relations. The conference is a joint initiative of Pakistan’s Jang Group of publications and the Times of India newspaper.
Gilani told the opening session that improved relations with India “are important for us as it offers a billion-plus market to the Pakistani exporters”.
“We face many challenges and threats from forces inimical to peace. We are passing through turbulent times in our history in which non-state actors are determined to harm the peace process. Such forces are present on both sides of the border and we have to remain vigilant that they are not able to derail our hard earned gains,” Gilani said.
“It was in April 2011 when the two countries announced their intention to normalise bilateral trade relations. And by April 2012, we made huge strides in this direction,” the PM said. The prime minister said Pakistan decided to scrap the positive list regime for imports from India and replaced it with a negative list and the Wagah-Attari Trade Gate, which opened recently, would go a long way in boosting the volume of trade.
He said the peace process between the two countries would be strengthened through the business conference and business community could a play vital role in ensuring peace and harmony and designated business community as ambassadors and champions of peace.
“The struggles to build good relations are remarkable, it is the policy of the government to enlarge mutual relations between the two countries and we have to cultivate the relations on the basis mutual trust,” he said.
Gilani said the population of Pakistan’s giant neighbor offered the country’s exporters a “billion-plus market”, adding normal trade relations were vital to Pakistan achieving its economic potential.
“Our textiles, I am told, have a huge market across the border,” he said, adding that India could find a market in Pakistan for goods including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan was committed to resolving all outstanding issues with India through dialogue, besides developing bilateral relations on an equal basis. “We want all our core issues settled through dialogue on equitable basis and want to start a new era of economic collaboration with India,”
Beware of non-state actors, Gilani warns India
