Pakistan, India to sign new protocol on shipping
Pakistan and India would sign a revised protocol on shipping to remove constraints imposed by the earlier agreement on Thursday (today) and Federal Minister for Port and Shipping Senator Babar Khan Ghouri on Wednesday left for India for signing the new shipping protocol.Talking to journalists before leaving for India, the minister declared that the signing of new shipping protocol would be historical for both the countries. He elaborated that under the revised protocol ships of both countries could lift cargo for the respective countries from the ports of India and Pakistan. He said that vessels of the two countries could lift cargo for other countries and other countries vessels also lift cargo between the two countries.
It is to be mentioned here that under the existing shipping protocol, which was signed on 1975, there were restrictions on lifting of cargo between the two countries by third country vessels as well of lifting of third country cargo by vessels from both countries. Babar Ghuri said that the signing of new protocol would help launch of the planned Karachi-Mumbay ferry service and the service would be started after signing of the protocol. He informed that private companies have been issued licenses for the Karachi-Mumbay ferry service, adding that after signing the protocol the companies would also contact Indian government for issuance of license for the planned ferry service. He hoped that the Karachi-Mumbai ferry service would be started in coming February or March, which would help improve the relation between the two counties. He pointed out that the after implementation of the new shipping protocol the economy of both the countries would also be stable and importer and exporter of the countries would be benefited from it.
The cargo charges would considerably decreased after the new shipping protocol, he noted. To a question, the federal shipping minister said that four private companies had contacted the government for operation in Gawadar Port and expressed his strong optimism that the Port would be fully operational by end of the current month. It is to be mentioned here that the new shipping protocol is a revised version of 1975s shipping protocol, which has already been approved by the governments of both the countries. The protocol will be signed by Shipping Ministers of both the countries, Babar Khan Ghouri Shipping Minister of Pakistan and T R Baalu of India on behalf of their respective countries at New Delhi today (Thursday).