Breaking the month-long stalemate on the India-Pakistan peace process, a business delegation from Pakistan has decided to visit India by the end of this month to re-initiate dialogue between the two countries.
The delegation will meet various government bodies and the chambers of commerce to take forward the peace dialogue that was initiated a month ago by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"The visit signifies that the peace process and the dialogue have not ended. The delegation will basically focus on rekindling the peace process and starting a fresh dialogue rather than assessing the trade potential between the two countries," said T K Bhaumik, senior advisor (policy), Confederation of Indian Industry.
However, the industry body pointed out that until the air-link between the two countries is revived, there will not be any progress in bi-lateral trade relationship.
"It is of utmost importance to revive the air-links to promote a healthy trade relationship," Bhaumik said.
Currently, bus is the only mode of travel to Pakistan from India. Air-travelling to Pakistan is routed through Dubai, which is a long and tedious process, he added.
The industry body said that the lack of air-link will adversely impact the peace process.
Meanwhile, CII has also decided to take a 100-member business delegation comprising top company officials and chief executive officers to Pakistan at a later stage to assess trade opportunities in that country.
At the same time, the chambers body said that it will hold its Made-in-India exhibitions at Lahore and Karachi to promote the India brand.
It will also hold a series of meetings and seminars with various Pakistani trade bodies and chambers of commerce to enhance bilateral trade relations. It is understood that around 100-150 companies have evinced keen interest in participating in the exhibitions.
"We are still finalising the plan for the visit. It will happen later during the year," said Bhaumik.
