US, Pakistan see ties with India improving

WASHINGTON: The United States hopes that there will be progress in Indo-Pak trade ties after elections in India, which could quadruple to $10 billion in a few years, says Washington’s chief diplomat for South Asia. Endorsing the need for peace in the region, Pakistan’s Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani says that there is a broad political consensus in Pakistan to promote regional cooperation as a path to peace and prosperity. In two separate presentations at the Harvard University, the two senior diplomats also underlined the need for cooperation between India and Pakistan for bringing peace to the war-ravaged Afghanistan. “Clearly, the biggest constraint to boosting trade and energy flows is in addressing the barriers between India and Pakistan,” said US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal. Reciprocating her feelings, Ambassador Jilani said that Pakistan looked at future of its relations with India with hope as “there are tremendous opportunities to work together for improving the quality of lives of the people of South Asia”. Highlighting the current trends, the Pakistani envoy said that there’s a strong realisation in South Asia on the imperative of an uninterrupted peace process. Ms Biswal said the United States was encouraged by the economic progress that Pakistan had made in the past year, though it still faced many challenges. “An improved climate between Pakistan and its largest neighbour can pay enormous economic dividends. India-Pakistan trade in 2013 was still a paltry $2.5bn. There’s no reason that number can’t quadruple in a few years’ time to USD 10bn,” she said. “We have heard some positive murmurings in Islamabad and Delhi that both governments are moving in this direction and we are hopeful that they will make progress after the Indian election,” Biswal said. Ambassador Jilani noted that both countries have had constructive discussions in the composite dialogue in the past years and were able to conclude a number of Confidence Building Measures. “South Asia cannot achieve its true economic potential unless Pakistan and India resolve their differences and make common cause against terrorism and poverty,” he said. The ambassador reminded the audience that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vision for a peaceful neighborhood had helped improve the situation. The prime minister, he said, had extended a hand of cooperation towards India in order to build durable peace. “But for a durable peace, it’s imperative to settle old issues, including the J&K dispute in accordance with international legality,” he said. Ms Biswal said the United States clearly saw “a time of great dynamism across South Asia”, with elections and transitions that have been unfolding over the past year. While the transition in Afghanistan was the cause of much angst and anxiety, the US focused on the opportunities and imperative it creates for connecting the economies of South Asia and Central Asia, she added. Through the New Silk Road vision the US has been focusing its efforts on four key areas — creating regional energy markets that link Central with South Asia; boosting transportation routes and investing in critical infrastructure; improving customs and borders; and linking businesses and people.