Trade, tourism top priority: Punjab minister Anmol Gagan Maan

Amritsar, December 7

Owing to diplomatic constraints, traders from Afghanistan and Pakistan will not be able to participate in the 17th Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX).

However, some of the Pakistani traders who possess SAARC visas, joined the event.

The five-day event was inaugurated by Minister for Tourism and Culture Affairs Anmol Gagan Maan today.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not been granting visas to traders from Pakistan since 2017 for the PITEX. Similarly, since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there’s a hitch in inviting traders directly.

RS Sachdeva, chair, Punjab Chapter, PHDCCI, said the Pakistani traders had not been participating for the past six years due to visa limitations. “Similarly, Afghani traders, too, are out of reach due to several diplomatic restrictions,” he said.

“Yet, traders from Pakistan having SAARC visas and some Afghanis will be there in their individual capacity. Thus, the visitors will not miss dry fruit, fashion articles and different cuisines,” he said, adding that merchants from Turkiye, Iran, Egypt and Thailand were also participating in the event.

The minister said developing tourism and trade was a top priority of the AAP government. She said a special plan worth Rs 1,150 crore had been drawn up for the improvement of focal industrial points in the state.

“We have trade-friendly schemes in the pipeline. In just two years, an investment of Rs 60,000 crore has come to Punjab,” she said.

DPS Kharbanda, CEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion, said the PITEX had played an important role in promoting tourism sector. “Such events are truly invaluable platforms for marketing, networking and partnership building that contribute to the economic development of Punjab,” he said.