India okays FDI from Pakistan to strengthen bilateral ties

NEW DELHI: India has given green signal to foreign direct investment (FDI) from Pakistan, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma with the aim to boost bilateral economic ties.

Sharma said, “We have allowed Indian investments in Pakistan and Pakistan’s investment, whatever is the amount, to come to India.” He also said that it is not possible to attain South Asian economic integration without engaging with Pakistan.

This statement came at the National Seminar on Foreign Trade Policy held here. He also said that in the past one year, the bilateral trade relations between India and Pakistan have seen improvement.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) sent a recommendation to the Finance Ministry for bringing amendments in Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to permit FDI from Pakistan.

The current FDI policy states that a non-resident entity, besides a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in there, is allowed to carry out investments in India. In the past, Centre had okayed investments from Bangladesh under the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) route.