On Transit State
The book analyzes how Nepal can be a transit state between two of its powerful neighbors
At a time when the countries from around the world are coming to grab the economic opportunity in Nepal’s two neighbors India and China, Nepal cannot remain idles. Sandwiched between two growing economic powers India and China , Nepal has tremendous potentials to serve as a transit point for Nepal ’s two neighbors.
Although India and China have still to go a long way before developing their relations based on mutual trust, the warming up of the relations between these two has shown that the country likes Nepal must prepare a long term strategy and plan.
“It is no secret that economic integration is very much in the larger interest of traders and businesspersons. Nepal has been an entrepot or a gateway for India-China trans-Himalayan trade since as early as during the reign of King Narendra Dev the Licchivi period. In the 7 th century A.D., King Pratap Malla Kathmandu obtained privileges for the Newar Merchants to gain virtual monopoly over the lucrative trade between India and Tibet alongside minting coins for Tibet . The towns of Banepa, Pharping, Bhaktapur, and Bhimphedi were prominent trading towns and business in those areas resembled the high and lows of the prosperity of the empires on the north and on the South,” writes Nishchal N. Pandey, executive director in his preface. “Presently, the data for Indian exports to China indicates that a few primary products dominate exports. During the year 2004-05, export of a single item i.e. iron ore accounted for 45 percent of India ’s exports to China . Keeping into consideration the longer term perspective of achieving new heights in Indo-China trade in the year to come, the Indian export basket has not been diversified especially manufactured items and processed products.”
Based on a seminar papers, the book is compilations of various articles written by many experts. In the article, Nepal as a Transit State : Emerging Possibilities, Tara Dahal sketches detail picture of Nepal highlighting the concept of transit states. “ Nepal had played her role of transit of culture, civilization and economy in the yesteryears. Nepal always has that potential which is being realized once again. This potential will again link the upcoming major economies of the two most populous countries of the world. There is no doubt that Nepal will benefit from the vast potential of the two economies,” writes Dahal. ”The time is ripe that through the vision of a transit economy, Nepal could lift her position from that of an unstable economy to a stable one. Nepal wishes to see that upcoming transit routes would serve as a modern Silk Road that will connect China with rest of South Asia through Nepal . It should be structured in such a way that it becomes more capable of coping with the realities of the changed world context at the bilateral, regional and global level.”
In his article Transit Economy: An opportunity to Revive Past Glory, former envoy and president of Council of World Affairs Keshav Raj Jha discusses how Nepal was benefited in the previous centuries by using the country as a transit point. “ Nepal has played her role of transit of culture, civilization and economy in the yesteryears. Nepal always has that potential which is being realized once again. This potential will again link the upcoming major economies of the two most populous countries of the world. There is no doubt that Nepal will benefit from the vast potential of the two economies,” writes Jha.
There are difficulties of where we are right now and where we intend to be but the idea that essentially we are thinking about a more prosperous future no matter how difficult things might be there is something that is commendable. .. So what I am trying to argue here is, the real problem in going to this new kind of economy, a new kind of world, we are thinking of is a very great challenge. But it is really conceptual. We are not really landlocked, It’s time to unlock our ideas,” said former minister of water resources and resources economist Dipak Gyawali in his conclusion remarks.
This is very interesting books to know about how Nepal is turning from land-locked to land linked.
