Move forward on bilateral trade relations: India asks Pak

India has already taken steps to improve commerce with Pakistan and it should now match these measures to improve trade ties, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said today, a day after Islamabad failed to clear hurdles in granting MFN status to New Delhi.

Forces which believe in peace and are progressive will be strengthened if trade relations between the two countries are improved, Sharma told reporters on his arrival in Islamabad for talks with his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

"We had discussed in Delhi how we can improve our economic relationship and decided what steps need to be taken. We have taken the steps we had said we would take. We hope that Pakistan will now take steps so that we can take the relationship forward," he said.

India is willing to discuss all issues related to bilateral trade, Sharma said.

Responding to a question on Pakistan's plans to give India Most Favoured Nation-status, he said the arrangement is part of the World Trade Organisation.

"All members of WTO give each other MFN treatment. Some 190 members of WTO have given each other MFN-status. India has already given it to Pakistan," he said.

Giving India MFN-status would make bilateral trade easier and New Delhi was moving forward on this basis in its talks with Islamabad, he said.

Sharma arrived in the Pakistani capital after interacting with captains of industry in Lahore and Karachi, the country's financial hub, over the past two days.