JERUSALEM, 13 September 2005 — Israel yesterday signed a decree authorizing unrestricted Pakistani imports on a temporary basis, just weeks after the two countries made first official diplomatic contact.
Signed by Trade and Industry Minister Ehud Olmert, importers are no longer required to hold a valid, signed license to bring Pakistani goods into the Jewish state, the Foreign Ministry said. The decree was signed “in the context of warming relations between Israel and Pakistan,” it said, without specifying how long the “temporary” order would remain in place.
“Economic and commercial relations should be encouraged between Israel and Pakistan and help to strengthen relations between the two countries,” it added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri met in Istanbul on Sept. 1, in the first official contact between the Jewish state and Islamic republic.
Pakistan has stressed that it will not officially recognize Israel until the Palestinians get their own independent state.
Israel has long hoped that its historic withdrawal from the Gaza Strip after a 38-year occupation could usher in a new period in Israel’s hitherto largely non-existent ties with many of the world’s Muslim countries.
