Pm India visit : Govt talks biz, economic agendas
KATHMANDU, OCT 10 -
As Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai embarks on a visit to India on October 21, the government has started consultations on the business and economic agenda of the trip.
On Sunday, the PM held a meeting with ministers, the chief secretary and secretaries to discuss the agendas.
According to one secretary who attended the meeting, they discussed various issues ranging from using various Indian ports, holding Nepal-India Commerce Secretary-level meeting and electricity import from India to seeking Indian assistance for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial estates.
Sources said the Ministry of Industry (MoI) has forwarded two proposals that include the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) with India and seeking Indian assistance to develop SEZs and industrial estates.
The government has already decided to construct SEZs in Bhairahawa, Simara, Dhangadhi, Panchkhal in Kavre, Jhapa, Biratnagar, Jumla and Kapilvastu to promote production and export of local goods with special incentives to industries.
“Our ministry has proposed seeking Indian support to develop SEZ and industrial estates,” said a top official from the industry ministry. “Since 1987, we have not expanded industrial estates.”
Through the BIPA, India has been seeking protection of its investment in Nepal. BIPA is a bilateral treaty that defines the agreement between the two countries for reciprocal encouragement, promotion, and protection of investments in each other’s territories by the companies based in either country.
It assures investors that their foreign investment will be guaranteed, given equitable treatment and full and constant legal security and disputes resolved through international mechanism.
For more than a decade, India has been demanding Nepal sign the BIPA.
According to sources at the Finance Ministry, Nepal and India could sign a bilateral deal worth US$ 250 million, a line of credit offered by the Indian government during the visit of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav to India in February 2010. The deal was supposed to be signed in June during Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s Nepal visit, but was postponed at the 11th hour.
In a bid to address the energy crisis, Nepal is requesting India to allow more power import. Prime Minister Bhattarai has already said that he will raise prominently the issue of power import from India. “My number one priority will be power import,” the PM had told editors of leading dailies on October 1. The PM had told the editors that he would be requesting India to export 200 MW of electricity.
Source: Kantipur
As Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai embarks on a visit to India on October 21, the government has started consultations on the business and economic agenda of the trip.
On Sunday, the PM held a meeting with ministers, the chief secretary and secretaries to discuss the agendas.
According to one secretary who attended the meeting, they discussed various issues ranging from using various Indian ports, holding Nepal-India Commerce Secretary-level meeting and electricity import from India to seeking Indian assistance for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial estates.
Sources said the Ministry of Industry (MoI) has forwarded two proposals that include the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) with India and seeking Indian assistance to develop SEZs and industrial estates.
The government has already decided to construct SEZs in Bhairahawa, Simara, Dhangadhi, Panchkhal in Kavre, Jhapa, Biratnagar, Jumla and Kapilvastu to promote production and export of local goods with special incentives to industries.
“Our ministry has proposed seeking Indian support to develop SEZ and industrial estates,” said a top official from the industry ministry. “Since 1987, we have not expanded industrial estates.”
Through the BIPA, India has been seeking protection of its investment in Nepal. BIPA is a bilateral treaty that defines the agreement between the two countries for reciprocal encouragement, promotion, and protection of investments in each other’s territories by the companies based in either country.
It assures investors that their foreign investment will be guaranteed, given equitable treatment and full and constant legal security and disputes resolved through international mechanism.
For more than a decade, India has been demanding Nepal sign the BIPA.
According to sources at the Finance Ministry, Nepal and India could sign a bilateral deal worth US$ 250 million, a line of credit offered by the Indian government during the visit of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav to India in February 2010. The deal was supposed to be signed in June during Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s Nepal visit, but was postponed at the 11th hour.
In a bid to address the energy crisis, Nepal is requesting India to allow more power import. Prime Minister Bhattarai has already said that he will raise prominently the issue of power import from India. “My number one priority will be power import,” the PM had told editors of leading dailies on October 1. The PM had told the editors that he would be requesting India to export 200 MW of electricity.
Source: Kantipur
