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Article

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Indian and Pakistani commerce secretaries are going to meet this week in New Delhi to follow up on the official announcement made by Pakistan to grant MFN status to India. It is important that this meeting is a success. Pakistan's decision has not come about easily but after a long gestation period of debate, discussion, awareness raising, consultations, serious analysis and advocacy. The consensus that has been built around this issue and the support it has evoked from the stakeholders need to be consolidated. The detractors in both the countries are at work and the consensus is still fragile. Any setback - contrived or unintentional - in the bilateral relations that have been improving for last couple of years can reverse this momentum. The process forward of which this week's meeting is a critical component must be thought through carefully. A dialogue among the participants rather than across the participants listening to each other’s viewpoints rather than taking predetermined positions is absolutely essential. How can this breakthrough be sustained and lead the way for further confidence building measures?

Publication Source

The News

Publication Date

11-14-2011

Pages

1-3

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