Q&A: Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, LCCI

'Pakistan keen on reviving Iran gas pipeline project'

The Pakistan government is planning to revive its talks with India on the Iran gas pipeline project. Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh tells Nayanima Basu the importance of the pipeline for Pakistan’s industry. Excerpts:

You complained (during your address to Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Delhi on Tuesday) about some of Pakistan-specific NTBs (non-tariff barriers) your exporters and businessmen face. Can you substantiate?
I have been told about the NTBs by my exporters and businessmen. What we want is this: There should not be any NTBs for any specific country in order to promote trade ties with it. Sooner the NTBs are removed, the better it will be for the trade ties. Our business community is sometimes not aware of the strict Indian standards. They spend a lot of time in obtaining certificates by doing the necessary paperwork, but still fail in conforming to the laws. I have been told today by Ficci that the NTBs have been removed. If it is so, then we welcome it. We only require a win-win situation for both of us.

 

Is the Pakistan government planning to revive talks on the Iran gas pipeline project?
This is a government-to-government thing. But as far as the Pakistan industry is concerned, we are looking forward to getting this project completed as early as possible. For, it will be in the interest of the industry and the trading community in Pakistan. It will benefit India, too. The earlier it is completed, the better it is. We are advocating our government to get it started as soon as possible. Every week, we issue a strong statement with regard to this gas pipeline project, because only this project can address our energy shortages.

Last month during his visit to India, Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood said Pakistan would be officially granting the most-favoured nation (MFN) trade status to India once you phase out the positive and negative lists. However, not many Pakistani businessmen want the status to be given to India. What is the current status?
Yes, our country has some sectors that have made serious reservations on giving India an MFN status.

At the same time, what we have been told is that india too has some particular sectors that have same sort of a reservation on the matter. I personally think we must move the trade forward without discussing the impediments. Let us keep those sectors in the negative list and move forward. In later stages, we would review their position. MFN would soon become a reality. I am optimistic that we would see a win-win scenario by next year. MFN remains a guiding force for all our trade-related interactions.

In your address to FICCI today, you highlighted the need for seamless mobile phone connectivity. Can you elaborate?
I have been highlighting it for a long time now. Unless and until the businessmen and exporters on both the sides are not connected, there is no point in opening borders. You cannot even make a simple call! This is the basic that can be done if we were to open trade. This must be done as early as possible. India can start with a handful of places in Pakistan and then gradually expand. We should also do the same. This is vital to opening up the hearts.

India is planning to initially allow multiple-entry visa to Pakistani businessmen for a period of two years. What is LCCI’s reaction to this?
The visas would be expanded to bona fide citizens of both countries for business. Face-to-face interaction and physical presence are a must to boost trade. I have been told that this has been allowed for an initial period of two years.

This will also unleash the untapped potential of trade between both sides. It would also address the problem of trade through informal routes.

What is LCCI doing to address the trade that is taking place through indirect channels?
Bilateral trade had been averaging around $1.7 billion till the past three years. It can be scaled to $8-10 billion in two years. Trade through irregular channels like Dubai and Singapore has reached $3 billion yearly. We are seeing how we can restrict and minimise this, with the opening up of our borders with Pakistan. As soon as we allow MFN to India through our National Assembly, definitely there will be an increase in the direct trade.