Bangalore, June 15: The governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Ishrat Husain, today called for improving trade relations among Saarc nations and said the revival of talks between India and Pakistan would boost trade relations between the two neighbours. "I think when the leaders of both the countries resume the dialogue, it will improve trade relations," Husain told reporters here, ahead of a crucial meet of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) beginning here tomorrow, which will discuss its future course in adopting technology and admit more members.
Asked whether the Indo-Pak trade talks would be raised in the meet, Husain said, "That is being discussed." Stating that there was a huge impetus given to intra-region trade in other trade blocks in Latin America and Asean, which improved their economy, he said, the Saarc region was "very much behind times". The governor of Pakistan's Central Bank, Husain, who steered reforms in Pakistan's banking sector, said if trade in Saarc region improved, poverty could be reduced in the region, which has 50 per cent of the poor people in the world. Bureau Report