From Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Feb 16 (PTI) The establishment of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) depends on concluding negotiations on key issues, including sensitive lists, within a specified timeframe, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said today. Gilani made the remarks during a meeting with Commerce Ministers of SAARC states who were in Islamabad for the 6th SAFTA Ministerial Council meet. He specifically referred to India's separate sensitive lists for least developed countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs, saying the measure was "Pakistan-specific". "The establishment of the South Asian Free Trade Area depends critically on the ongoing negotiations. There are several vital issues that are to be successfully negotiated within the specified timeframe," he said. "We know that India has two separate sensitive lists, one for NLDCs and other for LDCs. Since India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are NLDCs in the region, this makes the Indian sensitive list Pakistan-specific," he said. As part of the Trade Liberalisation Programme under SAFTA, the non-LDCs or Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan will have to reduce their tariffs to 0.5 per cent by 2013, while the LDCs will reduce tariffs to 0.5 per cent by 2016, he said. Gilani further said Pakistan was cognizant of the fact that the WTO is based on the principle of Most Favoured Nation (MFN), which implies non-discriminatory treatment among member countries in terms of tariff and the number of tariff lines. "Pakistan being the signatory to WTO is obliged to observe this principle," he said. The outstanding issues of negotiation are "quite complicated and it is not easy to find a common ground for all negotiating parties", he acknowledged. "Despite such difficulties, we have got to work hard and work in a spirit of goodwill and accommodation, keeping in mind the time limit and the urgency of deepening economic integration in our region," he said. (MORE)
