KATHMANDU, April 29 : A meeting of Nepal-India’s inter government committee (IGC) to control unauthorized trade between the two countries agreed to boost bilateral trade and investments to bolster ‘synchronized development’.
The countries agreed to initiate a comprehensive review of 2009’s bilateral treaty and trade by July 2018 by considering all factors. It also explored possibilities of amendments to
to the bilateral Treaty of Transit (1999) to further facilitate transit movement of Nepal’s trade with third countries by expanding transit points, simplification of procedures, electronic cargo tracking and also enabling movement of Indian cargo through Nepali territory.
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Additonally, both sides aim to consolidate all earlier amendments to the Treaty of Transit, within a month.
Since most bilateral trade takes place through land customs stations across the border between India and Nepal, the two countries also agreed on synchronised development of border trade infrastructure so as to ensure timely utilisation of the investment in border infrastructure.
In order to enhance the volume of trade, the two countries emphasised the need for bilateral harmonisation of standards and expediting progress on MoUs between concerned agencies. The two sides further agreed to work towards mutual recognition of each other’s testing and certifications.
In order to ensure regular inputs from business and investors, both sides had earlier agreed to constitute Nepal-India Joint Business Forum consisting of industry representatives from the two countries that will function as an institutional B2B mechanism for providing policy level inputs on trade and investment.
