LAHORE, May 8: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday the promotion of trade between India and Pakistan would benefit either side brining about collective progress and prosperity in the region.

He said if European countries could live peacefully after centuries of wars and conflicts, India and Pakistan could also promote bilateral trade by setting aside the hostilities of the past, says an official handout.

He said this at the concluding session of the Pakistan-India Economic Conference at a local hotel. Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal, traders, industrialists and investors of the two countries attended the two-day conference.

He said that trade through Karachi, Mumbai and Singapore cost a lot while it would be much cheaper if goods were transported through Amritsar and Lahore.

He urged both sides to set aside the hostilities of past and look ahead. He said wars and tensions between India and Pakistan in the last 64 years had caused heavy losses to both countries and time had come to promote mutual trade and utilize resources on the progress and prosperity of the people instead of wasting them on armaments.

He said a durable peace could be achieved in the region through resolution of Kashmir, water and other outstanding issues between Pakistan and India.

He welcomed the holding of the second Aman Ki Asha Indo-Pak Economic Conference saying that it would promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

He said that India had a strong position in the steel industry while Pakistan has superiority in the textile sector. He said that he had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural ceremony of the new trade gate in India recently and he observed that India had developed an excellent infrastructure on its borders for trade with Pakistan.

Indian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Adi Godrej and Geo TV Network President Imran Aslam also spoke.