Dubbing many of the existing barriers in Indo-Pak trade as "meaningless", Communications and IT Minister Arun Shourie on Wednesday said that the potential for bilateral trade was tremendous especially in the areas of tourism, energy exchange and high-end manufacturing goods.

"Many of our barriers are quite meaningless. While the formal trade is $200-250 million, the third country and the contraband trade is 10-12 times larger than the official trade," Shourie said while inaugurating the first ever 'Made in Pakistan' exhibition organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in New Delhi.

Suggesting a three-pronged strategy to spur the overall development in the region, Shourie said: "Development requires unwavering focus bereft of hostility, as hostility distracts us from our focus on development."

Secondly, there is a great benefit in opening up the markets as it would enable the two countries to become more competitive in the global economic environment.

Shourie pointed at the huge potential that needed to be tapped in the areas of tourism, energy exchange and high end manufacturing goods.

Outlining the three imperatives for the future, he said long term relationships could not survive by calculating gains and losses on every-day basis.

"The relationship between India and Pakistan is accident prone so we need to have a steadier gaze so as not to get deflected from time to time," Shourie said.

He drew attention of business leaders of both the countries to look at the way power got transferred from state apparatus to outside.