Pakistan trade show kicks off on Indian soil

Pakistan

Pakistan trade show kicks off on Indian soil

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Traditional foes Pakistan and India said Thursday they hoped to transform trade ties.

12 April,2012 05:52 pm

They also hoped to boost peace prospects at the opening of the largest Pakistani commercial fair ever staged on Indian soil.There is no other option but economic partnership between Indian and Pakistan, Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said at the launch of the four-day exhibition in New Delhi, a sentiment echoed by Pakistani officials.We have to recognise our true trade potential and leave our children with a legacy that ensures prosperity, harmony and peace.The opening came just days after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari made the first trip to India by a Pakistani head of state in seven years.Pakistan has brought more than 650 business people to the Indian capital for the trade show as commercial ties improve between the nuclear-armed neighbours.The two countries have approved a most-favoured-nation accord, reducing taxes that hamper trade.Official two-way trade of around $2.6 billion is heavily tilted in Indias favour but unofficial trade is estimated at around $10 billion.The show underscored hopes voiced by the two nations that boosting trade can help the peace process, which India warily resumed last year despite an attack by Islamist gunmen on Mumbai in 2008 that left 166 people dead.(A) lot of movement has happened in the past year, normalisation is going very fast, Pakistan Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood said.The fair showcases the products of Pakistans top jewellery, furniture and clothes designers along with the goods of leading food producers.We have the top brands of Pakistan, the high-end fashion and creative work in this show, Tariq Puri, chief executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, said. We have never had so many quality people under the same roof.The two countries, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, are due to open a trading post on Friday along their heavily militarised border that will sharply boost the number of trucks crossing daily.The Pakistani lifestyle exhibition in New Delhi follows a successful made-in-India trade show in the Pakistani city of Lahore in February.