While India faces energy shortage, its state of Punjab will soon be surplus, technically ready to export electricity from Amritsar to Lahore.“This can increase if more infrastructure is added. There will be third party assurance and presently the method of payment and trying to involve the private sector are being looked into,” says Manish Mohan, Director Confederation of Indian Industry, who says he has also worked with Aman Ki Asha.
However, one view heard everywhere is why Nawaz Sharif suddenly had cold feet after initially he was so enthusiastic about importing Indian electricity. Fingers point in a familiar direction as in all matters concerning India. Initially, 259MW can be provided to Lahore.
Mohan recalls a meeting set up initially for 15 minutes with Sharif which stretched to over an hour. “That Indo-Pak relationship is complicated is an understatement. We have not been able to create the right chemistry,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Nisha Taneja, who heads the Indian Council for Research on Economic Relations, says that many in Pakistan are completely unaware of the items they can freely trade with India. “At times we found out on our visits to Pakistan that they are clueless of the number of items they can export,” she said.
But, she added, there is less bureaucratic constraints in Pakistan. The project, she heads on Pakistan, is the biggest in India. She admitted that there are factors on both sides that are trying to slow down the process. “If everything was open and there was no impediment, both countries could trade including in oil, a sum of two billion annually with the balance of trade in India’s favour,” she added.
Source:- thenews.com.pk
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