India: The Economic Coordination Council of Pakistan has allowed cotton and yarn imports from India. The Pakistan Ministry of Commerce held a meeting after which the decision was taken. It is expected that this decision to allow imports from India could be a major step in reviving the suspended trade between the two countries.
The trade between India and Pakistan grew marginally in the subsequent years. Cotton is considered one of the major imports of Pakistan from India. Pakistan has imported $550.33 million worth of cotton from India in 2018-19. However, the cotton exports of India to Pakistan dropped to $64.25 million in 2019-20. Prof Nisha Taneja of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations said, “There has been a sugar dependence between the two countries forever. Typically, what happens is, they also produce sugar and we also produce sugar, whenever they have a shortage, we have supplied their requirement and vice versa”.
In New Delhi, the Armies of India and Pakistan reinforced the ceasefire followed by talks on the Indus Water Treaty. Letters were also exchanged between Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, and Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Earlier, PM Modi has written a letter to Imran Khan on Pakistan National Day and now he has responded with proposed result-oriented talks.