Power Trading deal to be finalised

KATHMANDU: Nepal and India have agreed to finalise the text of the Power Trading Agreement at the earliest to pave the way for the country to purchase any quantity of electricity when energy production here dwindles and sell any quantity of power when production exceeds domestic need.

To finalise the draft agreement, a Nepali delegation led by energy secretary is expected to visit India soon. However, it is not known when the delegation will visit India and whether the text of the agreement would be finalised before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in the first week of August.

These were some of the understandings reached during the third Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting co-chaired by Nepal’s Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey and Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj today in Kathmandu.

During the meeting, the two leaders also agreed to expedite the process of preparing detailed project report of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, which has the potential to generate nine billion units of electricity per year, and finalise the terms of reference of the Pancheshwar Development Authority, which will oversee implementation of the Pancheshwar Project.

“The two leaders underscored the importance of harnessing Nepal’s vast hydropower potentials for mutual benefits,” says a joint press statement issued after completion of the meeting.

Further, an understanding was also reached to expedite the construction of 132kV Kataiya-Kusaha and 132kV Raxaul-Parwanipur transmission lines so that Nepal could import additional power from India in the short term to address power deficit.

During the talks, both sides also took notice of Nepal’s widening trade deficit with India, and agreed to take effective measures to increase the country’s exports to the southern neighbour. “In order to promote Nepal’s exports to India, the Indian side agreed to further relaxing the rules of origin requirements; simplifying and streamlining transit and customs related procedures; eliminating technical barriers to trade and making (quarantine processes) less stringent; and lifting quantitative restrictions on exports of Nepali products to India,” says the statement.

Also, both sides directed the concerned authorities to conclude pending Letters of Exchange at the earliest to facilitate trade and traffic in transit.

They also stressed on the need to complete necessary formalities to enforce the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, to attract more Indian investment towards the country.

Highlights

• Expedite process of preparing detailed project report of Pancheshwar Project

• Expedite construction of Kataiya-Kusaha and Raxaul-Parwanipur transmission lines

• Enforce Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement

• Conclude agreement of Postal Highway Phase II works

• Bridge Nepal’s widening trade deficit with India.

Source: THT