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| Business captains to have joint chamber | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 13: • Consensus between three chambers. It may be named as Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
• Broad understanding on using dual currency in view the unstable position of foreign currencies in the global market. a stable foreign currency to be taken as the reference point for determining the rates of the Indian and Pakistani rupee.
• Governments reported to have left it to Chambers to choose the mode of payment and currency
To push the cross-Line of Control trade in practical measures the captains of trade and industry are reported to have agreed on an ‘in principle’ general consensus for giving shape to a joint business chamber but a melting point between traders of Srinagar and Jammu still seems elusive.
While the infrastructure and procedural bottlenecks in this intra-state trade are obvious, one of the major achievements, so far, of the visit of delegation from the across the divide is believed to be a consensus among both sides to have joint business chamber. “This is a unique trade and we need to be united for convincing the governments in both sides to have in place a regime which ushers us all in a business of profit”, says Zulfikar Abbasi, the president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (as it is known there) Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Before their arrival in Jammu, the Muzaffarabad traders had a wide ranging meeting with their counterparts in Srinagar and the idea of joint business chamber was hammered. J&K Governor NN Vohra has also appreciated the idea. The joint business chamber is likely to be known as Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The leaders of industry and trade in Jammu too agreed to this urgency and took a first step forward in forming a joint business chamber. During visit of PaK traders to Suchetgarh, on the India-Pakistan International Border where people from both sides have been demanding a link to neighboring business hub of Sialkote, the President of Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry got website launched by Abbasi which sounded like a joint chamber of traders and manufacturers. The list of promoters on the website though had prominent members from Kashmir and other parts of the state but there was none from Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In Srinagar, however, a decision was taken after a broad discussion to have a joint chamber. The decision was taken at a four-hour meeting between the visiting delegation of the PoK Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting was chaired by KCCI President Dr Mubeen Shah and his counterpart from PoK Zulfiqar Abbasi.
The meeting discussed various issues related to communication, travel, infrastructure facilities, and other tradable items needed to be included in the list, besides the prospects of the tourism and power sectors. Both the chambers would submit their final recommendations to their respective governments for approval.
They agreed to set up a joint chamber to be called "Federation of Jammu and Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry" for hassle-free trade across the LoC.
"The name would be under consideration and formal announcement would be made after meeting with trade organisations," the presidents of the two chambers said.
Abbasi said the representation of trade organisations in the joint chamber could be worked out later.
Shah informed the meeting that the government had left it for them to choose the mode of payment and currency. The meeting agreed upon dual currency for trade, keeping in view the unstable position of foreign currencies like the US dollar and Euro in the global market. However, it agreed to set a stable foreign currency as the reference point for determining the rates of the Indian and Pakistani rupee.
Both the presidents said they would impress upon the governments of India and Pakistan to set up branches of their premium banks in the other country's regions to facilitate trade. |
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