Joint Statement, Second Round of India-Pakistan talks on Economic and Commercial Cooperation
Date: August 10, 2005
Place: New Delhi, India

August 10, 2005

The Second Round of India-Pakistan talks on Economic and Commercial Cooperation within the framework of the Composite Dialogue was held on August 9-10, 2005. The Indian Delegation was led by Commerce Secretary Shri S.N. Menon. The Pakistan delegation was led by the Acting Secretary Ministry of Commerce, Syed Asif Shah.

The discussions were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. The two sides recognized the scope for further increase in bilateral trade and discussed further measures to enhance mutually beneficial economic and commercial cooperation.

The two sides agreed on the following:

- Aeronautical talks would be held in Pakistan in September 2005 to review the existing Air Services Agreement.

- A bilateral meeting to review the Shipping Protocol of 1975 would be held in Pakistan in September 2005.

- The Second Meeting of the Joint Study Group (JSG) would be convened at an early date in Islamabad. The JSG meeting would be preceded by the meeting of the Sub-Groups on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and Customs Cooperation and Trade Facilitation to formulate recommendations for consideration by the JSG.

The two sides recalled the decision taken during the visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to India in November 2004 to open branches of scheduled banks in each other’s country and agreed that requests for opening of bank branches in both the countries would be processed expeditiously to facilitate bilateral trade relations.

Both sides also noted the progress achieved in concluding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to benefit from each other’s experiences.

Both sides expressed the hope that Fibre Optic link between Amritsar and Lahore would be established and operationalized at the earliest.

New Delhi
August 10, 2005