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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| India minister Anand Sharma in key Pakistan trade trip | India minister Anand Sharma in key Pakistan trade trip |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has begun a three day visit to Pakistan to boost trade between the two rival neighbours. | |
| Last year Pakistan and India agreed to boost trade. Islamabad had previously linked improvements to resolving the dispute over Kashmir. | Last year Pakistan and India agreed to boost trade. Islamabad had previously linked improvements to resolving the dispute over Kashmir. |
| Mr Sharma's talks in Pakistan will focus on doubling annual trade to $6bn (£3.7bn) in three years. | Mr Sharma's talks in Pakistan will focus on doubling annual trade to $6bn (£3.7bn) in three years. |
| Correspondents say it is a significant step towards boosting peace. | Correspondents say it is a significant step towards boosting peace. |
| India granted most-favoured-nation trading status to Pakistan in 1996 - a move designed to lower tariffs - and last year Islamabad proposed to reciprocate. | India granted most-favoured-nation trading status to Pakistan in 1996 - a move designed to lower tariffs - and last year Islamabad proposed to reciprocate. |
| 'Build bridges' | 'Build bridges' |
| Last year, for the first time in 35 years, a Pakistani commerce minister led a business delegation to India. | Last year, for the first time in 35 years, a Pakistani commerce minister led a business delegation to India. |
| Now Mr Sharma will head a 80-member-strong delegation of business leaders and officials during his talks in Pakistan, according to the state-run Doordarshan News. | Now Mr Sharma will head a 80-member-strong delegation of business leaders and officials during his talks in Pakistan, according to the state-run Doordarshan News. |
| He is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart and other leaders and hold meetings with Pakistani business leaders in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. | He is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart and other leaders and hold meetings with Pakistani business leaders in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. |
| "We want to build bridges of confidence and trust which is imperative to promote two-way trade between the two countries," Mr Sharma told reporters ahead of his visit. | "We want to build bridges of confidence and trust which is imperative to promote two-way trade between the two countries," Mr Sharma told reporters ahead of his visit. |
| "We hope to double this [trade] figure in a three-year period. Once direct trade through [the] land route is facilitated, there will be a manifold increase," he added. | "We hope to double this [trade] figure in a three-year period. Once direct trade through [the] land route is facilitated, there will be a manifold increase," he added. |
| Pakistan maintains a list of 1,945 items allowed to be imported from India. But only 108 can be moved directly by road through the overland border post at Wagah, reports say. | Pakistan maintains a list of 1,945 items allowed to be imported from India. But only 108 can be moved directly by road through the overland border post at Wagah, reports say. |
| Major exports from India to Pakistan include sugar, cotton, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its top imports from Pakistan include fruit, mineral fuels and organic chemicals. | Major exports from India to Pakistan include sugar, cotton, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its top imports from Pakistan include fruit, mineral fuels and organic chemicals. |
| India and Pakistan resumed formal peace talks last year after they were broken off in the wake of the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008. | India and Pakistan resumed formal peace talks last year after they were broken off in the wake of the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008. |