In a development that may herald a new era in Indo-Pakistan economic relations, the first tranche of cement from Pakistan is all set to make its way into the country by the end of the year. Pakistan commerce secretary Syed Asif Shah today said that the problem of Pakistani cement not complying with the BIS norms here has been sorted out and three factory tests have been done. “We have discussed the issue of allowing cement from Pakistan to India and Indian tea to Pakistan. A lot of progress has been made and I am hopeful that the first lot from these three factories would make their way into India by the end of this month or latest by September 15,” Shah said. Pakistan produces 37 million tonnes (mt) of cement right now which is expected to go up to 45 mt by 2015. The country’s internal consumption is only 23 mt and the rest is excess.The first tranche may comprise a quantity of upto 4 mt and facilities for containers through the Wagah border is being spruced up. Another breakthrough came in the form of the new shipping protocol that has been revised after a gap of 31 years. “This new protocol will help increase trade between the two countries as now ships from Pakistan will be able to come directly into Indian ports and vice versa,” Shah added.
