LAHORE - Pakistan will benefit if trade among SAARC countries is promoted to the level achieved under other regional trade agreements. This was stated by President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tariq Sayeed while speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday. LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Senior Vice President Ijaz A Mumtaz, Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh and Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik also spoke on the occasion. Tariq Sayeed said after some initial reservations the private sector by and large was convinced that the promotion of trade between India and Pakistan should get priority over all other issues. Poverty in both countries could only be addressed if free flow of trade and investment in the region is ensured, he added. He said Indians were also convinced that Indias dream of becoming a global economic power was closely linked to peace and harmony with was neighbors. He said solution to other issues would follow once trade among 8 SAARC countries was promoted. He said tariff issues under SAFTA had been settled and currently the least developed countries of the region had zero-rated access to all SAARC countries, he said, adding that the tariff would come down to zero or a maximum of 0.5 per cent for all SAARC countries by 2016. Pakistan, Tariq Sayeed added, will get a golden opportunity in the form of market access to one fourth of the global population which lives in the SAARC region.It will also be a challenge to Pakistani entrepreneurs to compete with zero-rated products that would be permitted to be imported from SAARC member countries, he added. The challenge could be easily met by improving efficiencies and upgrading technologies during the next six years, he said. The SAARC Chamber President said non-tariff barriers were still an issue which needed to be addressed prudently. He said even Indian businessmen in their interaction at SAARC meetings had admitted that there were thousands of non-tariff barriers that discouraged imports into India. He said similar problems existed to a lesser extent in other SAARC countries. It will be a challenge to resolve the problem. A united business community can force its respective government to promote fair trade among member countries. Talking about Pakistan, Tariq Sayeed said its economy had performed well. In sixties, exports of Pakistan and China were almost at the same level and today Chinas exports had touched the staggering figure of $1.3 trillion while Pakistan was still struggling to achieve a target of $ 20 billion. He said the federal government had allowed FPCCI to establish a desk at Islamabad International Airport to receive foreign businessmen properly. A permission to establish similar desks at other international airports will also be sought, he added. He said work on the building of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Islamabad as its headquarters would start this year and the required funding for the multimillion dollar project had partly been arranged. He asked the LCCI to book an office in the building as it was being extended to all chambers. Earlier, giving a detailed presentation on the water situation in Pakistan, former LCCI Vice President Shahzad Ali Malik said India was systematically depriving Pakistan of its share in water by building dams and water generation projects illegally. The SAARC Chamber President said it was an issue between India, Pakistan and the World Bank. The government of Pakistan has already taken up the issue with WB authorities, he added. LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry also spoke.