Islamabad, Feb 7: Pakistan's business community Sunday welcomed the upcoming foreign secretary-level talks with India, terming it a highly positive step that could result in many benefits for the people of both countries.
 At a meeting here of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, its members said both countries are endowed with plenty of human and natural resources and they should establish an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence to harness these for strengthening their economies and uplifting the living standard of their people.
 Chairing the meeting, chamber president Zahid Maqbool said that peaceful and friendly relations between India and Pakistan are essential to promote bilateral trade and economic relations and to exploit the full potential of each other's comparative advantage in different fields, Online news agency reported.
 He said there were vast untapped trade and investment possibilities between the two countries that can be gainfully exploited with significant welfare gains and opportunities to alleviate poverty and strengthen human security. Towards this, the two neighbours should take proactive measures to exploit untapped areas of economic cooperation.
 He said the people of both countries share a common culture and traditions and could considerably enhance the current level of bilateral trade. However, peace between the two countries is the basic condition to realize their common objectives.  India and Pakistan Friday discussed the dates for talks between their foreign secretaries and the scope of their dialogue that could include other issues besides terrorism.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 8 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST