21 items identified for duty-free passage across LoC

New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI) Twenty-one items for trade have been identified for duty free passage across the Line of Control (LOC), the Lok Sabha was informed today.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Kumar Mukerjee said in a written reply that the cross LOC trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot routes commenced from October 21.

He said the items to be traded from Salamabad to Chakoti and Chakandabagh to Rawalakot are carpets, rugs wall hangings, shawls and stoles, fresh fruits and vegetables, aromatic plants, dry fruits including walnuts, kashmiri spices, spring rubberised coir/foam mattresses and furniture including walnut furniture.

Similarly, items to be traded from Chakoti to Salamabad and Rawalakot to Chakandabagh are rice, precious stones, dry fruits including walnuts, medicinal herbs, fresh fruit and vegetables, furniture including walnut furniture, carpets and rugs, embroidered items, foam mattresses, shawls and stoles.

The expansion of people-to-people contacts, including through trade and commerce, will provide an effective platform to develop and strengthen bilateral relations, Mr Mukherjee added.

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