Pakistan commerce secretary Zafar Mahmood is arriving in New Delhi this evening to review the economic ties between the two neighbours. He is to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rahul Khullar on various economic issues of mutual and regional concern on Monday.

During the two-day Commerce Secretary level talks, India is likely to seek clarity on Pakistan's decision to grant New Delhi the crucial Most Favoured Nation – MFN – status.

During his talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit at Addu in Maldives earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered to sign a Preferential Trade Agreement with Pakistan, committing to eliminate duties on all goods by 2016.

AIR correspondent reports, India-Pakistan trade volume is a paltry 2.6 billion US Dollar, though the third country-routed commerce is estimated at 10 billion US Dollars. The two countries have been making efforts and right political gestures to their bilateral trade.

India has been backing the European Union proposal to grant special trade concessions to Pakistan where floods caused havoc to its economy, last year.

India had granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.

The MFN is a World Trade Organisation rule under which countries are required to give equal treatment to their trading partners.