Commerce Ministry hopes Nawaz will encourage trade ties with India

Commerce Secretary hoped normalising trade relations with India would be one of the "top priority" of the neighbouring country

Commerce ministry today expressed hope that the formation of new government in Pakistan led by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif would encourage trade relations with India.

"The PM elect of Pakistan himself said that he wishes to pick up the threads of normalising the trade relations with India and we see this as a positive step for growing trade relations between both the countries...," Commerce Secretary S R Rao told reporters here.

He hoped normalising trade relations with India would be one of the "top priority" of the neighbouring country.

"We do hope that it augurs well for the mutual trade. This will be one of the top priority for Pakistan government to normalise trade relations with India," Rao added.

Sharif was poised for a record third term as Pakistan's Prime Minister with his PML-N party taking an unassailable lead in Parliamentary elections.

Taking forward the process of normalisation of trade, Pakistan has shifted from positive trade list regime to a limited negative list and is expected to soon grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.

Pakistan has already missed a December 31, 2012, deadline to end a negative list regime for trade and give MFN'status to India. India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.

Currently, the bilateral trade between the countries stood at $2.5 billion.