Crucial Nepal-India trade talks expected next month
ShareSansar, November 26:
The Inter-governmental committee (IGC) meeting between Nepal and India is expected to be held next month – after a hiatus for five years.
The secretarial level IGC is considered the most important mechanism to discuss economic and trade ties between the immediate neighbors. It is also important in that around 66 percent of Nepal’s total trade hinges on India.
The meeting expected by the second week of Poush in Kathmandu will give priority to the urgent issues related to trade between the two countries, according to the secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Madhav Prasad Regmi.
“If fact, India has requested the meeting to address some pressing issues related to bilateral trade,” he further said, adding the exact date for the meeting will be finalized after making necessary preparations for the meeting.
According to sources, Indian commerce ministry officials are expected to visit Nepal for an expo of Indian goods in Kathmandu in the second week of Poush, and the Indian side wants to hold the IGC meeting during the same time.
Nepal’s officials, however, said that they will not take any decision of national importance considering the political change and the imminent change of government after the Constituent Assembly election.
The government officials further said that they will discuss the concerns of the Nepali side with economists and financial experts as well as the representatives of the private sector to prepare Nepal’s agenda for the meeting.
Some of the issues Nepal is likely to raise include requesting the Indian side to remove countervailing duties (CVD) on the export of readymade garments, textile and utensils; problems concerning re-export and quarantine, according to government sources.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has said that the government needs to raise all the issues that concern the country and the traders in the upcoming meeting as it is taking place after a long period.
