Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi
"Look at how Europe has changed since World War-II. The European Union, then not even a fantasy, is now a reality. As is its currency - the euro."
"Consider Japan and the US. The destruction of the Pearl Harbor or the retaliatory N-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, notwithstanding, the two countries have excellent trade ties. Trade has brought together what were once bitter enemies. Let the politics of our two nations spare our businesses."
Thus spake Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour at Hotel Marriott, Islamabad, barely a day before Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee invited General Pervez Musharraf for talks.
Bilour, the outgoing president of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was addressing a meeting attended by a 35-member delegation of businessmen from India led by Chirayu Amin, president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Industry and Commerce.
Even as the ceasefire in Kashmir showed no signs of bringing peace to the Valley and casualties kept rising, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs went ahead to give political clearance to the FICCI delegation to visit Islamabad and Lahore.
Members of the Indian delegation, which received a grand reception in Islamabad and Lahore, go dreamy-eyed when they relive the Pakistan experience.
"Wahan jakar Kargil ki yaad nahi aayi (We were not reminded of Kargil there)! Pakistan imports tea from Kenya at a very high price. So what's wrong if it gets the commodity at a lower price from India? Surely, it will not aggravate the Kashmir issue," says N D Rajpal, resident director of Alembic, who was a member of the delegation.
Rajpal is from Dera Ghaji Khan, a village in eastern Pakistan. "Business with Pakistan must increase. We might want to shut our eyes to it, but even as we speak a lot of illegal trade does go on between India and Pakistan via Dubai and Afghanistan. Both the nations lose out billions in revenue. Smuggling of narcotics, too, is rampant. We might as well lift barriers and push for free and fair trade. This will help curb illegal activity," he says.
After this Lahore bus journey in February 1999, Vajpayee announced the formation of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In April 1999, the chamber was formally set up with Ilyas Bilour, a respected Pakistani businessman, its first president.
However, even before the trade body could begin to lobby, hostilities broke out and the Kargil skirmish worsened relations between India and Pakistan.
India was not ready to talk to Pakistan at any level. After almost two years of passive existence, the Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry decided to invite FICCI and rekindle the flame of trade - and hope.
On May 22, 2001, rich businessmen and powerful traders from the two sides met in Islamabad. Both seemed determined to write a new chapter in trade ties by suggesting innovative ideas to strengthen bonds.
The delegation's visit went on to be prominently splashed across the front pages of The Dawn and The Nation.
Indian businessmen also met Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Commerce Minister Abdul Razzaq Dawood.
There was consensus amongst the delegates that enormous business potential exists between the two nations and should not be ignored.
According to 'Freer trade in India: Its raison d'etre and Impact', a study commissioned by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, realisation has been growing in Pakistan that extending the 'Most Favoured Nation' status to India would benefit Pakistan immensely.
Imports of iron ore, textile machinery and steel products will help Pakistan meet its requirements. Pakistani consumers would be able to get cheaper wheat, spices, tea, edible oils, etc., if Pakistan allows these commodities to be imported from India.
However, trade would not be one-sided. Pakistan too will have access to a large, newer market for its surgical instruments, fruits and vegetables, cotton yarn and textiles.
Industry associations on either side of the border feel that once economic ties are established and become effective, the changed scenario would put pressure on politicians to resolve contentious issues.
Businessmen say that the formation of the chamber would open a gateway for more bilateral trade. They feel that if India and Pakistan are to promote free trade, the leaders of both the nations need to have a pro-active approach aimed at long-term benefits and gains.
According to the study by FICCI:
- Pakistan imports iron ore at a high cost from Brazil and Australia.
- Cars and scooters produced in Pakistan are priced 50 per cent higher.
- Pakistan is the second-largest consumer of tea with an annual market of around 130 to 150 million kgs.
- Indian drugs are 30 per cent cheaper.
- Pakistan has banned the import of textile machinery from India. Pakistani manufacturers import the machinery mostly from Germany.
- Pakistan's annual demand for tyres stands at 10,00,000, whereas it produces only 200,000. Yet, it has imposed a 46.6 per cent duty on popular Indian truck tyres.
- Pakistan imports 90 per cent of the chemicals it requires.
- Pakistan has a competitive advantage in cotton textiles, while India has an upper hand in silk and synthetic fibre.
- Indian coffee is smuggled into Pakistan in a big way. The trade needs an official recognition.
- If India and Pakistan agree to sign an agro-partnership, it could lead to the generation of 270,000 jobs in India and about 170,000 jobs in Pakistan.
Chirayu Amin, president of FICCI, says that unofficial trade between India and Pakistan has been estimated at around $1 billion, while official Pakistani imports from India in 1999-2000 were to the tune of Rs 2.96 billion.
Currently, 600 items are allowed for imports in Pakistan. According to FICCI, Indian goods are exported officially from India to Bandarabbas, sent to Kabul and later to Peshawar. Trade is also taking place via Dubai and Singapore.
Using this route, Indian products ranging from hair oil to truck tyres are sold in Pakistan. According to Anita Sarkar, a delegate and FICCI's deputy secretary: "India-Pakistan trade is a reality. Businessmen from both sides feel that this should be strengthened. Our aim is to de-link politics from business. Jootiyan (ladies shoes), Karachi suits and dry fruits could soon become a fad in India."
"It is businessmen who should be heard and not politicians alone. In fact, politicians should take a breather and let traders bring our two nations closer. We want to sign a joint WTO strategy. Only those who have been 'brainwashed' are opposing trade with Pakistan," says Sureshchand Mathur, a delegate and executive director of the Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers' of India.
"Kashmir is a non-issue for the trading community. Nobody talked about the controversy at the businessmen's meet. It is a demon created by politicians alone," he adds.
"Both the governments have taken a tough stance, and now it is difficult for either to relent. The politicians on either side want the controversy to rage and keep the Kashmir issue alive. But Pakistani as well as Indian traders are keen on resuming trade with each other," he says.
The truth is that both sides want a country-specific and not a city-specific visa, says a member of the delegation. India wants the MFN status, but the Pakistani government has denied it that.
Chirayu Amin, the new president of India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking in Islamabad proposed that warehouses be built on both the sides of the border near Amritsar to facilitate trade between the two nations.
Yet another suggestion during the meet was that an investment protection and investment promotion treaty be signed between the two countries.
Apparently, Dr Reddy's Laboratories has been seriously pursuing the idea of opening a multi-speciality hospital in Pakistan. Many other Indian companies too are keen to strengthen ties with Pakistan, which most feel will help bring the two nations closer to each other.
"Each and every delegate at the meeting felt that Kashmir or no Kashmir, business binds people together," says Rajpal.
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