India, Nepal to ink 3 pacts to boost trade
KATHMANDU: Nepal and India are set to sign three agreements on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, covering a new railway link and movement of bulk cargo from Indian ports, that are expected to boost bilateral trade.
Apart from participating in the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli to witness the signing of the pacts. Modi will also hand over a 400-bed ‘dharmashala’ built by India at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.
“We will sign a memorandum of understanding with India for conducting survey for the Raxual-kathmandu railway link. We will sign a letter of exchange on the movement of bulk cargo from Indian ports to Nepali transit points,” foreign minister Pradeep Gywali told a news conference on Friday that focused on the fourth BIMSTEC Summit to be hosted by Nepal during August 30-31.
Nepal and India agreed to expand the Indian railway network from Raxual to Kathmandu during Oli’s visit to India in April. According to officials, India will fully fund the survey for the proposed railway line.
An Indian team has conducted a baseline survey for the proposed line from Chovar in Kathmandu to Raxual. The pre-feasibility survey is expected to be completed within a year, officials said.
The letter of exchange (LOE), titled “Process Simplification and Additional Route”, will amend the bilateral transit treaty and pay the way for movement of bulk cargo through three more points on the India-nepal border. The LOE will facilitate the movement of bulk cargo from Kolkata, Haldia and Visakhapatnam ports to railheads near major border check posts at Jogbani, Nautanwa and Rupedhiya.
The agreement will open the door for importing bulk cargo from third countries to Nepal via railway. This facility is currently available only at Birgunj customs post. Nepalese businessmen have been demanding more facilities for a long time because the movement of bulk cargo even from Kolkata and Haldia to Birgunj often takes more than a month.