1.   

Saarc summit: Pakistan under pressure to save trade agenda

South Asian leaders will pressure Pakistan on Thursday to salvage the Saarc summit in Nepal. Saarc member nations will be hoping to bring Pakistan on board for electricity sharing and the free movement of vehicles across borders, measures aimed at boosting trade among nearly a quarter of the world's people. Hopes of progress at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) meeting in Kathmandu now hinge on a morning retreat outside the mountain city, where leaders will make their case to Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

2.   

Government targets $340 billion exports this year

Government has fixed an export target of $340 billion for the current fiscal, Commerce and Industry Minister NirmalaSitharaman said today. Exports had registered a growth of 4.7 per cent at $314.4 billion in the previous fiscal. Japan and the US contributed 1.84 per cent and 13.75 per cent respectively to total exports during April-September period of the current year, Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

3.   

WTO postpones trade deal by a day after last-minute objection

The World Trade Organization postponed adoption of the first global trade reform in its 19-year history on Wednesday, delaying by a day after a last-minute objection from Argentina, diplomats said. It's not a big drama," WTO chief spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters. Diplomats said they expected the meeting to go ahead on Thursday and the reform package to be adopted. But, after repeated pitfalls, nobody could rule out the deal tripping up.

4.   

Fourth India-Arab Partnership Conference begins in Delhi

The 4th India-Arab Partnership Conference got underway here Wednesday. In keeping with its status as India's largest source of crude oil, and its 4th biggest trading partner, Saudi Arabia is the partner country at the conference. Aiming to provide a platform for Indian and Arab businessmen to explore new opportunities, the conference is being organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with the Ministry of External Affairs and the League of Arab States (LAS).