Indo-Pak ties: Anand Sharma crosses border to boost trade

Excerpts from India Business Hour on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show »

It's the largest business delegation from India to ever visit Pakistan - A 150 member strong team led by commerce minister Anand Sharma. Although currently bilateral trade between India and Pakistan stands at a meagre USD 2.7 billion annually, there is hope that this could double in the next three-four years, if Pakistan removes trade barriers, reports CNBC-TV18's Rituparna Bhuyan.

Early this morning, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma crossed over to Pakistan through the Wagah post for a historic five day visit meant to better trade relations between the two neighbours.

Sharma said, "There is enthusiasm on this side and on the other side. I am looking forward to cross over and talk to our friends."

Sharma was greeted by his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

There are expectations of Pakistan formally announcing granting of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India by year-end and of shifting its trade regime with India from the Positive List to the Negative List (NL), which will see more Indian goods available in Pakistan's market.

But when asked about a timeline, Fahim was non committal. He said, "If I give you dead line today, and if it won't happen even for two days, it will not be good."

There are small but significant issues that India will need to sort out before engaging with Pakistan on the trade front, starting with the very first point of contact - the customs clearance facilities on the Indian side of the Wagah border.

Appalling is what one can say about the condition of the Indian customs station. The Pakistan customs station was a pleasant surprise and its condition was at par with any international facility.

It is not just that, other infrastructure also needs a boost. The conditions of the roads on India's side need to be improved for smoother bilateral trade traffic.