5 transit-related LoEs forwarded to India
KATHMANDU, Aug 26 :
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has forwarded the drafts of five letters of exchange (LOEs) sent by the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) to India´s Ministry of External Affairs to sign the vital transit agreements.
The two sides had agreed in principle to sign the agreement two years ago.
MoFA forwarded the LOEs to the Ministry of External Affairs of India this week, according to Amrit Rai, joint secretary of MoFA.
The LOEs were stuck in MoFA for more than one and half years. The issue came to light during the recent Nepal visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
MoFA was convinced to include the transit related issues in the Nepal-India Joint Council meeting after a series of talks between Minister for Commerce and Supplies Sunil Bahadur Thapa and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, a high-level source privy to the development told Republica.
The LOEs are for operationalization of rail transit through Singhabad to Rohanpur, simplification in modality for traffic movement between Nepal and Bangladesh through Kakarvitta to Banglabandha, amendment to treaty of transit for the movement of traffic from/to Visakhapatnam port to Nepal (by road/by rail), and traffic in transit via Nepal to India.
Likewise, LOE for railway service agreement (RSA) is pending due to Nepal´s reservation on Indian proposal to fix additional one time lock on cargos by the Indian Customs the movement of Indian truck/containers through Nepal´s land route.
The then foreign minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha had rejected the Indian proposal. Despite this, India has putting additional locks on containers coming to Nepal citing security reasons.
The Nepali side is also raising the issue of delay in the signing of Railway Agreement. In the absence of the agreement, Nepal hasn´t been able to use the Visakhapatnam port which India agreed to provide to Nepal during the India visit of then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in 2009.
The Nepal-India Transit Treaty was renewed in January 2013 for seven years. But the treaty doesn´t address crucial issues such as transshipment and the letter of exchange (LoE) for a Railway Agreement.
The LOEs forwarded to India cover matters including the operationalization of Visakhapatnam port with the amendment to the railway agreement for connecting Jogbani (to Biratnagar), Raxaul (to Birgunj customs point) and Nautanwa (to Bhairahawa customs point).
Nepal has also proposed to use the Rohanpur-Singhabad rail transit route as well as the Phulbari-Banglabandha road over Indian Territory to boost trade with Bangladesh.
The Nepali side has long been asking India to facilitate movement of cargo vehicles on the route to facilitate its trade with Bangladesh. If agreed, it will be a milestone on Nepal´s trade with Bangladesh.
Kakarvitta-Phulbari (West Bengal)-Banglabandha is the shortest trade route with Bangladesh. But condition of the road is poor. Also Indian security concern is creating nuisance for traders.
Minister for Commerce Sunil Bahadur Thapa recently also talked with his Indian Counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman, urging her for early signing of LOEs.
Source: Republica
