NEW DELHI: Top officials of Pakistan and India began talks on Monday to flesh out a plan to open up trade between the countries, after Islamabad said it would grant most-favoured nation status to its archrival.
Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood and his Indian counterpart Rahul Khullar are holding two days of discussions in New Delhi aimed at doubling annual trade in the next three years to $6 billion.
The visit followed the Pakistani cabinet's decision on November 2 to grant "most favoured nation" (MFN) status to India, reciprocating a move made by New Delhi in 1996.
"The cabinet not only gave its full approval but also mandated the commerce ministry to achieve complete normalisation of trade" with India, Mahmood told the meeting in New Delhi.
The cabinet's decision was seen as a breakthrough in efforts to thaw relations between the South Asian neighbours who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Mahmood said Pakistan "hopes to cover a lot of distance" in this week's talks.
"We will have interactions in the spirit of mutual cooperation and confidence so please have trust and faith in the process (as) times have changed and the world is coming closer," he said.
The meeting was part of a start-stop peace dialogue flagged off in 2004 by India and Pakistan but put on hold by New Delhi after attacks in Mumbai in 2008. "Through this meeting we want to create an atmosphere through which the composite dialogue can go forward," Mahmood said.
Khullar said India welcomed the MFN status that was intended to remove discriminatory higher pricing and duty tariffs that stand as barriers to exports between the South Asian neighbours. Analysts have said that the decision to ease trade barriers could open enormous opportunities for the two countries.
