As foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan prepare to meet later this month, business leaders from both sides are pushing the need to liberalise the visa regime between the neighbours in order to promote business linkages.
During the fourth meeting of the India Pakistan Joint Business Forum (IPJBF) held in the capital on Friday, Hero Corporate Services Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal said that multiple-entry business visas that are valid for one year should be issued to businessmen in order to promote bilateral trade between India and Pakistan. “These visas must be non-city specific and non-police reporting. There should be no restriction on entry and exit points,” he said.
Nestle Pakistan Chairman Syed Yawar Ali said liberalising visas was important to promote bilateral economic engagement between India and Pakistan. “We are at a historic time in our relationship as the leaders of both countries were born after the independence, both are pro-business and both enjoy majority in the respective parliaments. This is a fertile time to strengthen bilateral linkages and this opportunity should not be lost,” he said.