In a significant development the three-day meeting of representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Jammu, Kashmir and Pakistan controlled Jammu and Kashmir was held in Bangkok.
The prominent business leaders of Kashmir, Jammu and , Line of Control (LoC) traders and women entrepreneurs from the regions participated in the meeting.
The meeting was facilitated by an NGO Conciliation Resources in Bangkok from 25 - 27 January. This meeting built on previous meetings that have been convened in the past. Last meeting was held in 2015 in Dubai.
According to a press statement issued after the meeting the ex-presidents and presidents of the Chambers apprised the participants of the previous efforts made to promote the cross-LoC trade. "The efforts and leadership of the past presidents to get the Joint Chamber to this point were greatly admired by the participants and it was emphasised that their continued guidance and support for this institution would be highly valuable", the statement reads. It said important issues concerning each region were discussed by the representatives, the key focus being on the improvement of connectivity across the regions.
It also said that new leadership of the Jammu & Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (J&K-JCCI), comprising CCI Jammu,CCI Kashmir and CCI Pakistan Controlled Jammu and Kashmir, assumed office for the new term of 2018 as per the prevailing traditions of this forum. Javed Tenga took the position of President, with Rakesh Gupta and Ghulam Murtaza as joint presidents.
The statement said thid was followed by a detailed discussion about the support required by the J&K-JCCI to become more strengthened in order to be able to work towards the facilitation of trade. "The J&K-JCCI reiterated their support on the ground to the LoC traders and to play their role in taking recommendations to respective governments for enhancing this confidence building measure. An MoU was also signed in this regard."
The other attendees including women leaders from the three regions proposed futuristic measures to boost trade and economic and cultural connectivity. The main ideas discussed to promote the LoC trade were the inclusion of services in this context and advanced banking arrangements to facilitate a better and more effective trade process. All the business leaders agreed to take these ideas forward by talking to the governments of India and Pakistan and building confidence in their respective communities as well as amongst the three Chambers of Commerce and Industries.