Bangkok--Oct 14--eTurboNews
NEW DELHI, India (eTurboNews) - Before last weekend's devastating earthquake, India and Pakistan formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) to explore opportunities for promoting tourism between the two countries.
This was shared by Joint Secretary in Tourism Ministry Amitab Kant. As per the information available, Kant and other officials recently made video presentations to Pakistan's group tour operators and tourism officials in Islamabad and in Karachi to impress upon them that through liberalization of visa regime and promoting group tourism the two countries could tap a huge market involving over a million tourists. The decision to form JWG is a follow-up to the initiatives taken at the revived Joint Commission meeting in Pakistan, presided over by Indian External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid M Kasuri, according to Indian news agency PTI.
"In an effort to promote tourism, India has proposed to Pakistan to amend the existing agreement on visa to increase group tours to religious shrines and cultural exchange programme. The two sides agreed to pursue these proposals under the next round of composite dialogue process beginning in January," according to PTI report.
The development emerges as India and Pakistan re-established a panel to promote economic cooperation in another step in the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals. The two countries approved a deal requiring each country to notify the other of plans for ballistic missile tests. According to AP, The commission will promote coordination in health, science and technology, agriculture, education, telecommunications, the environment and tourism.
"The two ministers expressed satisfaction at the revival of the joint commission and hoped that the joint commission would contribute significantly in strengthening the mutually beneficial relations and cooperation between the two countries," the ministers said in a joint statement.
"The ministers reaffirmed their determination not to allow terrorism to impede the peace process," the statement said. "They resolved to carry forward the peace process and to maintain its momentum."
The ministers said new bus routes will be opened, including one between Rawalakot in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and Poonch on the Indian side. In April, a bus service reopened between Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, and Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir.
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