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| Kathmandu, Saturday March 01, 2003 Falgun 17, 2059. |
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‘India to treat Nepal
preferentially in future too’
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Indian Ambassador to Nepal
Shyam Saran today said that motivated political propaganda has plagued Nepal-India
bilateral efforts towards better economic cooperation.
Ambassador Saran clearly said that such
propaganda comes even before the economics of ‘how the two countries can work
together on a number of mutually beneficial issues’ is agreed upon.
He was referring to recent media reports that
downplayed the latest efforts of the Indian side towards an early signing of the
protracted Railway Agreement.
Signing of the Railway Agreement between the two
countries is necessary for the operation of the Birgunj-based Inland Container Depot
(ICD).
Nonetheless, the Ambassador added that Nepal
would continue to receive preferential trading treatment from India even in the future.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of
eighth annual general meeting of Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI).
On the occasion, Ambassador Saran also said that
changed regional and global context has prompted changes in Nepal-India Trade Treaty of
1996. "Changes in the global arena, especially due to World Trade Organization,
necessitated changes in the trade treaty, whether we like it or not," he said.
The Ambassador also said that Nepal could
benefit a lot from India in the areas of hydropower, trade, tourism and Information
Technology.
However, he said that both sides should have
willingness to address the mutual issues of concerns, only through which a mutually
beneficially partnership could be forged.
Jagat Bahadur Gurung, Assistant Minister for
Industry, Commerce and Supplies, said that the operation of the ICD at Birgunj is not far.
"India and Nepal has agreed on wide-ranging
issues and the ICD will come into operation within the next three months," the
minister said.
He expressed hope that the cease-fire declared
by the government and the Maoist recently would transform into long term peace, which is
necessary to boost the downtrodden business confidence.
Likewise, Tejendra Khanna, former Indian
Commerce Secretary, who was conferred with an honorary NICCI membership, said that both
Nepal and India still have huge trade potentials.
His statement was directed at the unsaid claims
that the treaty of 1996 renewed last year does not bear the same vision as the earlier
one.
He stressed that trade now should be carried out
with quality and productivity in mind. "Regulatory mechanism to ensure the quality of
production should be strong and effective," he said.
At the same time, Khanna added that some of the
existing procedural irritants in trade should be removed. "Time-bound limits should
be set for doing away with such irritants," he said.
On the occasion, Arun K Chaudhary, NICCI
President, said that the livelihoods of the Nepali agricultural community is at stake.
"The imposition of quarantine and long
procedures required for the entry of Nepalese agricultural products into India has scared
the fragile sentiment of the agricultural community," he said.
He also said that frequent policy changes on
both sides of the border has marred the flow of big investment into Nepal. "... the
changes have been regressive rather than progressive," he said.
Binod Chaudhary, President of the Confederation
of Nepalese Industries and Chandi Raj Dhakal, Vice President of the Federation of Nepalese
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, also spoke on the occasion.
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