SCCI chief hails Pak validation for ratification of visa regime

0
143

President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Vikramjit Singh Sahnay on Thursday hailed Pakistan for validating ratification of visa accord with India.
In a message sent to SCCI VP, Iftikahr Ali Malik, SCCI chief said that it was a bold and historic decision by Pakistan to simplify the cumbersome procedure for the grant of visa with a view to promoting people to people contact.
He said that epoch making decision by Pakistan will help enhance trade and boost business activities between the two countries. He said that multiple entries on one year visa with exemption from police report and increase in the number of cities for visa holders will ensure smooth and frequent exchange of traders’ delegations of private sectors.
Sahnay said the visa regime agreement singed by the former Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik will prove to be a milestone in the economic history of both countries for further cementing Pak-India relations and strengthening trade in addition to taking full benefits of technical expertise in different fields. He said that free movement of business community will not only help improve the business environment but also positively affect the entire region of South Asia.
SCCI chief said that Pakistan and India, with the support of their private sectors, had taken historic steps to normalise bilateral trade relations.
He said South Asia is the fastest growing region in the world but also one of the least integrated, while the region’s trade with rest of the world is growing rapidly, intra-regional trade is merely 5 percent of its total trade.
Sanhay said that despite being natural trade and investment partners, the volume of trade between Pak-India, the two largest economies of the region, has been extremely low.
He said that bilateral trade between Pak-India a couple of years ago stood at an estimated $1.83 billion. India accounts for nearly 1.2 per cent of Pakistan’s global exports, while Pakistan accounts for less than 0.9 percent of India’s global exports, he said.
Malik said that the private sectors of both countries have to play a key role in the prevailing scenario for viable and sustainable trade relations and for welfare of the people of the region.