WASHINGTON
The United States (US) has been encouraged by Pakistan’s economic turnaround over the past year and hopes for Pakistan-India progress after the Indian elections towards trade expansion, a US official said.
“We are encouraged by the economic progress that Pakistan has made in the past year, though it still faces many challenges ahead,” Nisha Desai Biswal, assistant secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said while outlining Washington’s vision for prosperity the region.
“Now clearly the biggest constraint to boosting trade and energy flows is in addressing the barriers between India and Pakistan,” she noted in a speech at the Harvard University.
“And an improved climate between Pakistan and its largest (South Asian) neighbour can pay enormous economic dividends.”
India-Pakistan trade in 2013 was still a paltry $2.5 billion, she however noted.
“There’s no reason that number can’t quadruple in a few years’ time to $10 billion. We have heard some positive murmurings in Islamabad and Delhi that both governments are moving in this direction and we are hopeful that they will make progress after the Indian election.”
Biswal saw a time of great dynamism across South Asia, with elections and transitions that have been unfolding over the past year and concluding over the next few months.
“And while the transition in Afghanistan is the cause of much angst and anxiety, we are focused on the opportunities and imperative it creates for connecting the economies of South Asia and Central Asia.”
Through its New Silk Road vision, the U.S. have been focusing our efforts in four key areas: Creating regional energy markets that link Central Asia with South Asia; Boosting transportation routes and investing in critical infrastructure; Improving customs and borders; and Linking businesses and people.
“Afghanistan and its neighbours are now championing that New Silk Road vision themselves. The region is reducing barriers to trade, investing in each other’s economies, and supporting cross-border projects.
“From CASA-1000 – which will bring surplus hydropower form Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan – to TAPI – the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline – the United States is supporting the countries of the region as they build the economic and energy linkages that will transform their individual and collective economies.
We have focused on easing the constraints to trade in this least connected part of the world. US technical assistance has helped reduce custom procedures by nearly half in Afghanistan, dramatically reducing border release times.”