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Kathmandu, January 13: The Nepal-India Commerce Secretary-level Inter-Governmental Committee has concluded in Kathmandu agreeing to lift the load carrying limit imposed on Nepali freight vehicles plying through Kankadbhitta-Phulbari-Banglabandh. Baburam Adhikari, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry, said that the agreement was reached at a two-day meeting held in the capital on Saturday, January 11.

According to the agreement, Nepali freight vehicles will also be able to move across the Indian border similar to the Indian vehicles. The Ministry’s spokesperson said that the secretary-level committee decided to give necessary instructions to the concerned authorities. He said that the implementation process by the concerned body will start only after correspondence based on the agreement.

According to the 15-point agreement issued by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, it has been agreed to amend the transit treaty between Nepal and India to expedite the letter of exchange sent by Nepal for the arrangement of transporting all kinds of cargo by rail from Biratnagar and Bhairahawa. At the meeting of the commerce secretaries of the two countries, the renewal of the transit treaty and the revision of the rail service agreement were also discussed. Nepal has also called for a review of the trade agreement. Nepal had urged India to lift the consequential ban imposed on the export of Nepali goods.

According to the treaty, India has been imposing an effective ban on vegetable ghee, copper items, zinc oxide and acrylic yarn since 2002. Nepal can only export 100,000 tonnes of vegetable ghee, 10,000 tonnes of yarn, 10,000 tonnes of copper utensils and 2,500 tonnes of zinc oxide to India.

It was decided to hold the fourth round of talks on the review of the trade treaty between Nepal and India soon and to conclude the letter of exchange sent by Nepal to implement the transit treaty.

Similarly, the secretary-level meeting also discussed the issue of making BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification mandatory for footwear, plywood, yarn, sanitary pads, cement, zinc and steel products to be exported to India. Nepal had requested to remove the delay from the Indian side in granting or renewing the BIS certificate. The Indian side agreed to expedite the process of issuance and renewal of BIS certificates on a priority basis for smooth clearance of these Nepali goods for export to India.

On the first day of the meeting, it was agreed to facilitate the import from India of animal products that are not produced in Nepal. It was agreed to enhance mutual cooperation with the Department of Quality and Measurement of Nepal and the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control of Nepal and counterpart bodies in India to advance the process of quality assessment and testing, certification and mutual recognition of goods, to regulate the import and export of medicines, to facilitate customs procedures, and to facilitate timely settlement of related matters through the thematic mechanisms of both the countries.

People’s News Monitoring Service.