Pak PM Sharif bats for cooperation, closer ties with India

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said that his PML-N party has pursued a policy of friendship and cooperation with India ever since its previous stints in power and will continue to do so to promote peace and prosperity in the region.

The Prime Minister expressed these views in a meeting of Pak-India Joint Business Council at the Prime Minister's House, his office said.

"It has always been his utmost endeavour to bring the peoples of the two South Asian neighbours closer to each other so that they can benefit from each other's experiences," an official statement said.

Expressing his satisfaction over the visit of Indian businessmen under the auspices of Pak-India Joint Business Council, Sharif said, "It is reassuring that both sides are sitting together and talking to each other."

The Prime Minister told the meeting that he had directed Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Water & Power, to visit India and explore potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Sharif told the Indian businessmen that his government is following investor-friendly policies.

"We are facing acute power shortage in our country and any assistance in the power sector would help us in addressing the issue," he added.

Indian members of the Council informed the Prime Minister that being located in the same region and facing similar problems, India can be of great help in providing support in the fields of medical science, higher education and technical and vocational training.

The meeting also discussed Non Discriminatory Market Access and agreed that the industrialists of both the countries should be provided a level-playing field.

Pervez Rashid, Minister for Information, Broadcasting & National Heritage and Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and senior officials also attended the meeting.