India-Pak Trade Talks To Embark On Tomorrow

With the intention of taking bilateral relations to a new high, India and Pakistan will kick off talks here tomorrow on establishing fibre optic telecom link, allowing banks to open branches and increasing trade volume via the Atari rail link. The two-day Secretary level talks will be held as part of the ongoing composite dialogue that includes boosting trade and economic ties between the two neighbours. The agenda includes not only widening the trade basket, but encompasses services like use of IT in medicine and export insurance, an official said. The Indian side will be led by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai, while his counterpart Syed Asif Shah will lead the Pakistan delegation. India is pushing for export of tea to Pakistan while the neighbouring country wants to sell its cement here. They will also discuss ways to improve trade from Munnabao-Khokrapar rail link and transport of molasses by wagons. The two countries will deliberate on protecting Basmati rice from unauthorised patenting by way of getting joint registration with the WTO under the ''Geographical Indications''. Despite fast growth in the last two years, bilateral trade remains at 1.4 billion dollars with India enjoying trade surplus.