Talks between Indian and Pakistani officials could lead the way to improved letter of credit (L/C) and bank guarantee availability for bilateral trades between the two countries.

The prospects for such improvements are apparently brighter since the commerce secretaries of each country met recently.

Talks resumed

It has emerged that Rahul Khullar and Zafar Mehmood, respectively the Indian and Pakistani ministers of commerce, met in Islamabad for talks at the end of April.

These were the first ministerial level talks on trade between the two countries for three years since the November 2008 terrorist attacks Mumbai.

Trade barriers

The ministers are assumed to have held only preliminary talks prior to setting an agenda for future meetings that are expected to examine ways to lower or remove barriers to bilateral trade.

These include poor banking arrangements that prevent traders from obtaining L/Cs or bank guarantees for bilateral trades.

Other trade barriers include visa restrictions as well as poor telecommunications systems and trade logistics.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.