Near, Yet So Far

A SLEW of deals was reached between Nepal and Bangladesh during the first-ever commerce secretary level talks between the two countries that concluded on Tuesday. That it was the first-ever talks at that level perhaps bespeak of the scheme of things in Nepal-Bangladesh trade and economic relations. Despite being a member of the SAARC and enjoying cordial relations always, Nepal and Bangladesh economic ties have been far from vibrant. Facts speak for themselves. The trade volume stands at only around Rs. 800 million. In Nepal's total exports volume, only one per cent goes to Bangladesh while its imports from that country is a mere 0.2 per cent of the total imports. A 25-year old trade agreement, which should have been revised a long time ago, still guides the trade between the two countries. Against this backdrop, the series of agreements between the two countries that were struck during the just-concluded talks has much significance. Bangladesh has agreed to provide warehouse facilities for Nepalese cargo at Mangla port, besides providing a 50 per cent rebate for goods on transit. It has also agreed to extend the "free time" to clear the cargo from the port. Bangladesh has also agreed to develop necessary infrastructure to develop a land port at Bangladandh by this December and is considering Nepal's demand that it open up its market for Nepalese agriculture products.

Hopefully, these agreements mark the beginning of a speedier Nepal-Bangladesh trade growth which has been bogged down in various hitches, the chief of them being the lack of physical facilities at the Bangladeshi border point of Bangladandh. The Kararbhitta,-Phulbari-Bangladandh route opened with a lot of fanfare several years ago, at present sees very few trucks carrying goods to and from Bangladesh. The trade is basically now confined to Nepal exporting lentils and wheat products and importing jute products, machinery and fertilisers. This must change, and the agreements reached now should come in handy. The agreement to bring down the customs tariff on a number of exportable items is a positive move that would, once the items are finalised, see an increased volume of trade. When trade begins to pick up between the two countries prompted by the promised measures to simplify trading arrangements and putting in place requisite facilities, Nepal-Bangladesh "trade distance" could significantly shorten, changing from a situation of "so near, yet so far".

Abling The Disabled

THE United Nations special rapporteur on disability of the Commission for Social Development Bengt Lindqvist is arriving in Nepal early next month in order to create awareness about equal rights to the disabled in every aspect of life. The physically impaired people have been a disadvantaged group in a third world country like ours, which suffers scarcity of resources and want of basic services like health and education. The disabled, in general sense, refers to all those people who have lost, or by birth are deprived of, one or more of their physical abilities like sight or power of hearing, limbs etc. There is a quite considerable number of such persons in the country though there has not been an official study to determine the exact figure. The lives of the disabled have hardly improved despite the presence of various government and non-governmental organisations working in this field. The most humiliating situation for such people is the indifferent look and even disdailful attitude the society has towards them. Anyone hardly thinks about the rights of the disabled at par with the able-bodied citizens, let alone provide them with such rights like rights to a respectable life, health, education and above all employment opportunities. Since many consider such persons as social burden, providing employment to the disabled will be crucial in enabling them to lead a dignified life.

But the situation, one can expect, might improve so far as the disabled of Nepal are concerned, for the government, in line with the UN's commitment of 'Education for All' by 2015, is drafting a national action plan on disability. At such a situation, all the concerned individuals and national and international organisations must, therefore, integrate their efforts to ahcieve the set goals regarding the disabled. And, of course, the upcoming Nepal visit by Lindqvist, himself a blind and a former MP and cabinet minister in Sweden, shows a ray of hope in this regard.