Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today left for Pakistan amid high expectations that the neighbouring nation will announce the first major step to normalise trade with New Delhi and eventually grant the much-awaited MFN status to India by the year-end.
As per the mutually agreed road map, Pakistan is committed to shifting its trade regime with India from the Positive List (PL) to Negative List (NL), thus allowing multi-fold increase in access to Indian Goods in the Pakistani Market.
At present, Islamabad allows only 1,946 items of imports from India, whereas New Delhi permits import from Pakistan of all, but a few items in the Indian NL.
"There is every reason for us to believe that there is an expressed wish and desire on part of Pakistan..to move to the (negative list) regime which deepens and diversifies trade and enhances economic engagements," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said.
When asked whether he is confident that Pakistan will announced NL during the visit, he replied, "This is the understanding which has been given to us when the Pakistani Commerce Secretary came again in November."
On talk about multiple-entry visa regime during the visit, Sharma said that there would be discussion on that.
"Both governments have talked. The drafts have been exchanged. We are in favour of an early conclusion of singing of an agreement for a multiple entry visa regime to facilitate the movement of business leaders of India and Pakistan as part of the process of normalisation," he added.
According to the road map for giving Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, Pakistan will eventually dismantle the NL by end of this year. Under the MFN status, all partners have equal rights.
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