Three pacts likely to be signed at SAARC summit

KATHMANDU:

SAARC member countries are likely to sign three crucial agreements on energy and transportation during the SAARC Summit scheduled for November 26 and 27 in Kathmandu, in a bid to expedite the process of regional economic integration.

The proposed agreements are Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation, SAARC Agreement on Motor Vehicle, and SAARC Agreement on Railway.

“The SAARC Secretariat has already forwarded the drafts of these agreements to the government of respective member countries. All the member nations are laying the groundwork to seal the deals,” Shankar Das Bairagi, secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), told The Himalayan Times, adding, “They all have to complete all necessary procedures to ink the pact during the Summit.”

In Nepal’s case, a Cabinet meeting held today decided to delegate the authority of signing the pacts to Foreign Affairs Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey.

Minister Pandey and his counterparts from the member nations will put their signatures on the pacts.

Of the three agreements, the motor vehicle agreement and railway agreement are expected to improve connectivity via land in South Asia.

“The motor vehicle agreement will pave the way for regular vehicles to ply on the roads of member nations on a reciprocal basis,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

“With regards to movement of non-regular passenger and non-regular non-passenger vehicles, every member state will have to design their own modality,” Sitaula further said, adding, “This agreement would enable free movement of vehicles within the South Asian region.”

The Agreement on Railway, on the other hand, will open the door for railway connectivity among South Asian countries, while the Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation will work as an umbrella agreement for energy trade in South Asia.

SAARC energy ministers discussed the agenda on energy cooperation and gave final touch to the agreement during the fourth meeting of SAARC energy ministers held in New Delhi in September.

According to Keshab Dhoj Adhikari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, the draft agreement has envisioned developing energy

related infrastructure like cross-border transmission lines, power grids and other required infrastructure for energy trade. “It has also called for facilitation in energy trade by reducing customs tariff and extending preferential access to the markets of member nations.”

Energy ministers of SAARC nations have principally agreed to secure sustainable energy supplies at affordable prices, against the backdrop of increasing energy demand in developing South Asia.

The member nations should ratify the agreements signed during the SAARC Summit and formulate policies accordingly to implement the agreements.

Source: THT