New Delhi, Feb. 10 (UPI) — India-Pakistani bilateral trade between the two countries worth $5.5 billion will reach $10 billion this year, an industry group said.
India’s trade with Pakistan grew 6.2 percent to $4 billion in the second quarter of 2017, up from $3.9 billion in 2016, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
India and Pakistan’s trade rose 12.1 percent to just under $6 billion in 2017, according the report.
The two countries are both signatories to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEPA), which is a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a U.S.-led multilateral plan to link Asia and Europe.
“The trade and investment between the countries grew to $5 billion in 2018 from $2.9-billion in 2017.
We expect the trade and investments between the three countries to reach $20 billion in 2020,” CII chief secretary Ramesh Mehta said.
India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are part of NATO and NATO member Turkey, and trade between them reached $4 trillion last year.
Pakistan’s trade has been growing at an average rate of 6.5 percent per year over the past decade.