HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

TRADE TALKS EXTENDED
Final agreement on crucial agenda today

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 4: The trade talks between Nepal and India scheduled to be finalised today got extended till Sunday as the two sides differed on certain agenda.

"We held extensive discussion on various agenda and are at the final stage," Commerce Ministry’s Joint Secretary Pusurhottam Ojha told the reporters after the officials from the two countries closed today’s meeting with an agreement to have concluding talks Sunday. "The talks will resume tomorrow morning to be followed by the final agreement."

Ojha denied controversies over any issues, adding that the two sides are yet to reach the final agreement on Nepal’s agenda of railroad extension to Birgunj and recognition of NS quality standard mark in India. Another issue that required more discussion was what the Indian side has called the excessive export of certain Nepali products to their country. Such Nepali items, according to them, include vegetable ghee, copper wire, zinc oxide, acrylic yarn, iron and zinc pipes.

Indian side has been saying that the export of these items to India has ‘surged’ over the years threatening the Indian industries and demanded for 30 per cent value addition in the import of these items into their country. The Nepalese side, however, has maintained that it was a natural growth and not a surge. The 1996 Trade Treaty allows duty-free access of Nepalese goods to India.

Nepal’s main agenda, besides railroad agreement and recognition of NS mark in India, include improvement of physical infrastructure at land-border customs points and co-operation between the two countries to establish export processing zones in Nepal. Nepal had put forward a 17-point agenda to discuss with the Indian officials.

The regular meeting between the officials of the two neighbouring countries began Friday under the provision of Nepal-India Trade Treaty 1996 with a view to identify the problems that have surfaced in process of its implementation and solve them bilaterally. The last regular meeting was held in 1999 in New Delhi, India.

The ongoing meeting that is taking place five months before the Treaty completes its five years of enforcement has been attached special importance by both the countries although the bilateral accord has a provision of an automatic renewal in every five years unless one of the parties gives a three-month advance notice seeking amendments in it.

In the talks, the Nepalese side is led by Commerce Secretary Bhanu Prasad Acharya while the Indian side is led by Indian Commerce Secretary Prabir Sengupta who flew to Kathmandu from New Delhi Friday.

Nepalese officials are hopeful that the meeting would benefit both the countries as it will help resolve the trade related problems between the two countries.

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