Indo-Pak Cooperation - Options

[ebrahym]

Basically India has given the commitment that Pakistan wont be treated any differently to another country (under SAARC agreement)....but Pakistan has not reciprocated and maintains a small basket of items that can be traded with India normally.

Everything else (mostly from India to Pakistan) is routed through UAE and payment often channeled through hawala sometimes too.

So yes as Musharraf said....you can't clap with one hand. For MFN to work, Pakistan must reciprocate.

From an MFN, one can eventually work a proper FTA....India is a huge market and Pakistan can benefit a lot in the long run....but it needs Pakistan to open up her own market to India as well.....but politics, fear and protectionism gets in the way.

there also comes strategic interest and strategic trade
it is not feasible

lets suppose we are having a massive trade
war erupts
i dont think i need to elaborate economic aspects further

its also going to be disputes first then trade
it is only logical

 

[Nilgiri]

there also comes strategic interest and strategic trade
it is not feasible

lets suppose we are having a massive trade
war erupts
i dont think i need to elaborate economic aspects further

its also going to be disputes first then trade
it is only logical

The thing is trade can be much bigger even with the state of relations today.

I mean it is criminal to let already rich UAE take their cut out of what is happening trade-wise between India and Pakistan (And pushing the prices higher for the consumer).

Why not just formalise an arrangement and trade directly within boundaries acceptable to both....I am not talking about massive trade that needs good relations....but starting at the existing trade that is now being routed through UAE and adding to the cost for everyone involved (and only UAE and hawala dealers profit). It will be a good CBM I think to improve relations gradually....and there will be less likelihood of war happening if there is at least an adequate amount of formal trade going on.

I mean we have huge relationship with China and we got territorial disputes with them...same goes for Vietnam and China and many other countries that have somewhat bad political relations (China-Japan)

2.5 billion total "official" trade between India and Pak is just too tiny even under the existing political relationship strain. For comparison China-Vietnam trade (as bad as their relations are) have close to 90 billion USD in trade.

For starters, surely we can target in bringing the estimated 10 billion total trade that goes on between India and Pakistan (most of it routed through UAE) as official trade that we can tax rather than paying UAE as middleman?

 

[salarsikander]

Do read to learn - 'seeking to destroy'. Idiots seek to destroy what they can never actually achieve all the time. That doesnt mean one should subsidize them in their foolish misadventures.

Stop wasting my time and don't quote me without adequate understanding.

Again typical bs rants from Indian. Get a life son. Worlds is much more than Pakistani obsession that you cultivate

 

[ebrahym]

The thing is trade can be much bigger even with the state of relations today.

I mean it is criminal to let already rich UAE take their cut out of what is happening trade-wise between India and Pakistan (And pushing the prices higher for the consumer).

Why not just formalise an arrangement and trade directly within boundaries acceptable to both....I am not talking about massive trade that needs good relations....but starting at the existing trade that is now being routed through UAE and adding to the cost for everyone involved (and only UAE and hawala dealers profit). It will be a good CBM I think to improve relations gradually....and there will be less likelihood of war happening if there is at least an adequate amount of formal trade going on.

I mean we have huge relationship with China and we got territorial disputes with them...same goes for Vietnam and China and many other countries that have somewhat bad political relations (China-Japan)

2.5 billion total "official" trade between India and Pak is just too tiny even under the existing political relationship strain. For comparison China-Vietnam trade (as bad as their relations are) have close to 90 billion USD in trade.

For starters, surely we can target in bringing the estimated 10 billion total trade that goes on between India and Pakistan (most of it routed through UAE) as official trade that we can tax rather than paying UAE as middleman?

Rightly put
but you see relations between china and India are becoming severe but was not this severe a decade ago or even a few years back
however even USA and USSR had trade agreements between them
the thing is if we stop politicizing Trade
much can be achieved

lets just agree to disagree

 

[Max]

The word " Cooperation " means Both sides working together for MUTUAL gain

What will India Gain by cooperating with Pakistan

There is NO field of Human endeavour where Pakistani Knowledge is SUPERIOR
to India infact Even Pakistani AGRICULTURE is struggling

So any cooperation would only benefit Pakistan

You want to make them richer so that they can hurt you more

Pakistani agriculture is struggling yet super rich bharti farmers are commiting suicides in thousands every year not Pakistanis

and cut down your rants, you dont have anything superior...

And how ur bollywood kind will make us richer when in real world you yourself hold record of more poor then africa combine... And have higher poverty rate then Pakistan..

 

[livingdead]

Entertainment and sports are really the only two fields that both nations can fully cooperate on without controversy...if politics doesn't interfere.

i would say business is the lowest hanging fruit.. if both countries can cooperate to make business easy.. it will benefit a lot of people indirectly... businessmen dont bother about politics or sentiments.

 

[That Guy]

i would say business is the lowest hanging fruit.. if both countries can cooperate to make business easy.. it will benefit a lot of people indirectly... businessmen dont bother about politics or sentiments.

The problem with business ties is that Pakistan is fearful of India; it is not so much the military aspect, rather Pakistan has seen what happens when you let a far larger economy have access to its markets. Chinese products have absolutely devastated Pakistani industry, and while China is planning on actually shifting a bunch of its own industry to Pakistan, as it transitions into high end manufacturing, the damage is already done.

If India were to get even a bit of the access that China was granted, Pakistani industries would practically disappear.

In the fact of China and India, Pakistan has no choice but to be far more protectionist in its approach.

 

[Indika]

It is an understatement to say India and Pakistan are not on good terms however it is also a fact that despite not being on best of terms countries often cooperate and collaborate in areas of mutual benefit. Current times are full of such examples

We see extensive collaboration b/w China and US in all spheres not touching national security. US benefits from cheaper manufacturing, lower priced goods and increased consumer choices while China earns valuable FOREX, gets technological and manufacturing capacities and learning and creates jobs for it's workers.

We see Chinese companies investing in Indian Start ups, funding Indian infrastructure and collaborating projects such as AIIB, BRICS Bank and SCO.

This covers just India, China and US - chief subjects of interest in our forum but their are many such partnerships like China-Japan, China-Taiwan, US-Russia, Europe-Russia, Europe-China etc.

I would look forward to sectors or platforms of collaboration b.w India and Pakistan which would form a win-win scenario with little to no bearing on National Interest and would ask indulgence of posters to build and expand on them

1. Media and Entertainment

There is a huge demand for Indian content in Pakistan and vice-versa and we have seem many collaborations where Pakistani actors have performed in India and reverse. However it would do well establish a nodal agency which would allow artists and content creators on both side have increased and not less access to other's markets. Funding avenues should be opened up so that Indian money can flow into Pakistani cinema and bring forth Pakistani content to Indian markets.

2. Governance and Democracy

India has had a relatively successful experience with Parliamentary Democracy and Pakistan is well on it's path to shake up the baggage of past coups. Greater interaction b/w our parliamentarians would result in first hand exchanges (not on how to loot people ) on how to deal with emergent problems like targeted resource allocation, priority sectors of funding, taxation and liberalization policies, experiences with foreign investors and manufacturers looking to set up shop etc.

3. Space Applications

While India has already offered the services of SAARC Satellite, it is not boastful to assume Pakistan's SUPARCO can benefit from exposure to non military related space applications. In this context India can offer to carry commercial, educational and weather monitoring payloads for Pakistan at discounted prices.

4. Sports

India and Pakistan are both under achievers when it comes to sports in general. While political differences have put a road block from greater interaction in field of cricket, there is still lot of space for leagues in football, badminton, tennis, hockey, boxing etc. Foreign trips are usually expensive while India/Pakistan are literally next door! This way we can play some quality matches at fraction of costs.

5. Agricultural Research

We both suffer from acute water scarcity and situation certainly ain't gonna get better in future. The need of the hour is to develop subcontinent specific technology to cultivate crops using the minimum amount of fresh water. This is one area we can do quality scientific work along with Israel and ME countries

6. Common Markets

While India has offered MFN status to Pakistan the reverse is not true but still there is lot of trade which takes indirectly via Dubai/ME which results in massive commissions to middlemen. It would be beneficial to traders and exporters of both sides if they can directly access markets atleast for agricultural produce.

We have seen multiple cases of stratospheric price rise of commodities in India requiring expensive imports which can be provided by Pakistan at a fractional cost. Modi instead of going to Africa can just load up trucks in Pakistan and in case of Pakistan lot of their produce goes to waste due to lack of proper storage.

7. IT/ITES

Pakistan is a huge untapped market for Indian IT/ITES services and at the same time, if India shouldn't be hesitant at training the Pakistani work force because by the time they are mature enough to offer the same bouquet of services - Indian companies would have moved to higher level of value added services leaving support and legacy systems market to Pakistani companies.

E-Commerce is another area where companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal can expand into Pakistan and offer Pakistani consumers greater choice at a cheaper rate.

Regards

@WAJsal @PARIKRAMA

Well intentions may be good theoretically correct but you are betting on the wrong horse. You can take a horse to water but not make it drink. I believe you must have been the adviser IK gujral whose actions led to deaths of thousands of Indians. The delusion quotient of ppl like you is very high. Why is that ppl never take practicalities & facts on the ground before formulating theories?

For example BD was one of the countries which was as bad as pakistan in supporting anti-india elements. Things have changed drastically because there is a constituency which believes in good neighborly relations. Can you say the same that of pakistan? pakistan is not a democracy , at the best it is military backed with feudal landlords as politicians. Even if nawaz wants trade with India, military will obstruct it. Peace with India will dilute their power in pakistan.

As @Stephen Cohen suggested there is nothing much India is going to gain by having deep ties with pakistan. I am pretty much surprised that you listed so many sectors. I believe even India&US (largest trading partner) spar on agriculture, have less ties in media and sports is non-existent.

I believe instead of pakistan if we should focus on china we will reap rich dividends. Chinese market alone is good enuf even if we dont have ties in other sectors. Lets join hands with success even if they are enemy.

Believe in ppl to ppl contacts but lets not get emotional and start living in a non-existent parallel universe. Fact is we will be gaining a lot by building a wall. For once I will agree with trump.

Please do add a new choice none/big wall.