India Hopes for Progress in Manmohan-Gilani Meeting


New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS): The leaders of India and Pakistan will meet in the Maldives Thursday with New Delhi saying justice for 26/11 victims was not a "lost cause" and hoping for forward movement in bilateral ties that got a boost when Islamabad granted it the most favoured nation (MFN) status.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at Hotel Shangri La in the picturesque Addu Atoll Thursday morning.

"They will be looking at the entire gamut of the relationship and discuss how to take it forward," official sources said as Manmohan Singh headed for the Maldives to take part in the 17th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit.

The sources took positive note of the MFN status granted by Pakistan to India after New Delhi granted similar status to Islamabad 15 years ago.

They also stressed that "considerable progress" had been made since the two prime ministers met in Thimphu in April last year.

The two leaders also met in Mohali on March 30 during the India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup semi-final.

"We have made considerable progress. There are big issues like 26/11 and terrorism that lead to trust deficit. We are on track to reduce the trust deficit on these issues," said sources.

At Thursday's talks, India will press for justice for victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack but the focus will be on carrying forward the peace process, given a fresh momentum with the MFN status and hopes of trade liberalisation between the two countries.

"It's not a lost cause as far as we are concerned," one official said.

Amid conflicting statements from Islamabad on grant of MFN status, the sources said New Delhi was hopeful that it would become operational soon.

"There is tremendous interest among the business community in Pakistan about greater trade with India barring some sectors where there is some nervousness," said the sources.

By and large there was consensus in Pakistan that trade with India needed to be opened up, said the sources, adding that Islamabad realised that the fear of Indian goods swamping Pakistan markets was unfounded.

There was no groundswell of opposition in Pakistan to the MFN to India, added the sources.

Currently, legal bilateral trade between India and Pakistan is estimated at $2.7 billion; total trade, including those through third countries like Dubai, Singapore and Sri Lanka, could be as high as $6 billion.

The grant of MFN status, the sources said, could lead to a quantum jump in trade between the two countries, which froze the dialogue process after the Mumbai terror attack and resumed only in March this year.

Manmohan Singh will also meet Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley Wednesday evening and Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Thursday before the two-day SAARC summit kicks off Thursday.

  

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Title: India Hopes for Progress in Manmohan-Gilani Meeting



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