PTI

LAHORE FOR many of the Indian businessmen who gathered in Lahore for a business conference, the visit to Lahore was as much about soaking up the historic city’s culture and relishing the delectable cuisine as striking deals.

“I am here (in Lahore) for two-day holiday. And I am in a holiday mode. I am not taking it as seriously as others may be with regard to exploring business opportunities in Pakistan,” Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto Limited, told PTI.

Bajaj was responding to a question about the outcome of initiatives launched by India and Pakistan to boost bilateral trade.

A large delegation of leading Indian businessmen attended the two-day conference that was addressed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

The organisers of the business meet arranged a tour of Pakistan’s cultural capital and a light and sound show at the historic Lahore Fort for the Indian delegates.

A large number of Pakistani businessmen, cutting across industrial and financial sectors, attended the second India-Pakistan Aman Ki Asha Economic Conference.

Many of the delegates shopped for relatives back home and sampled Lahore’s fabled cuisine.

Bajaj, who was quite vocal about India-Pakistan relations, said he was not in favour of easing visa curbs for ordinary citizens.

“I would like to suggest that businessmen of both sides should be facilitated so that they get visas without hassles.

Because of the terrorism issue, visas cannot be given to everyone,” the Bajaj Auto Limited Chairman remarked.

He agreed that trade between the two countries was moving ahead at a considerable pace and this was a good sign so far as the bilateral relations are concerned.