WAGAH BORDER PRIMED FOR GROWTH

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000688 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON PREL PK SUBJECT: WAGAH BORDER PRIMED FOR GROWTH ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Economic/Commercial Counselor visited Pakistan's Wagah border crossing point with India on February 11 and met Assistant Customs Collector Tauqueer Dar to discuss cross-border and transit trade issues. Dar sees a bright future for cross border trade, which has been increasing since the land border was opened to truck traffic October 1, 2007. He confirmed that only Afghan fruits and vegetables were transiting to India and blamed the delays in transit on India. New infrastructure and plans for a dry port are indicative of GOP efforts to increase passenger and goods land trade with India. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Economic/Commercial Counselor and FCS Specialist met Assistant Customs Collector Tauqueer Dar at the Wagah border crossing outside Lahore to discuss cross-border and transit trade issues on February 11. Dar also proudly showed Econoffs the new passenger immigration facility, which had been inaugurated by Prime Minister Soomro the previous Saturday. Passenger traffic has grown steadily from a total of 4672 people crossing daily in July 2007 to 9153 people crossing daily in January 2008. The majority of the travelers come from India, as Dar said, to take advantage of Lahore's cultural life. ¶3. (SBU) 3. (SBU) Dar, a member of Pakistan's 1984 Olympic gold medal field hockey team and a descendent of a family from Amitsar, sees a bright future for cross-border trade in both directions. He told us that the National Logistics Cell has plans to build a dry port at the border so that goods that require a bonded warehouse for shipment can be accommodated. He thought that this facility could be completed in 18 to 24 months and that it was ridiculous to ship items destined for Lahore through Mumbai, Dubai and Karachi. Dar added that passenger and cargo traffic have increased significantly over the last few years. In order to avoid additional congestion at Wagah, authorities on both sides of the border have agreed to construct a new adjacent crossing, solely for cargo traffic. ¶4. (SBU) In terms of trucks, the majority of traffic again comes from India. The only Pakistan-India truck traffic is the Afghan transit trade, with an average of slightly over 200 trucks per month since October 1, 2007. Only fresh and dry fruit transit the border at Wagah. The majority of items from India are currently tomatoes. Other permitted items include onions, potatoes, garlic, halal meat and live bovine animals. Cement is being shipped to India in limited quantities through a special permit process. Dar explained that total border-crossing time on the Pakistan side is one hour including issuing the permit, but it takes two hours on the Indian side. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The future for cross-border trade is bright, provided that the GOP has the political will to take advantage of this opportunity. On the Pakistan side, the permit issuance process is totally computerized, using pictures and digital recognition. The truck loading process was orderly and efficient but done with no shelter from the elements. End comment. PATTERSON