Nepal needs to initiate moves to boost trade

Visakhapatnam: Even though Visakhapatnam port was declared as the second gateway port after Kolkata/Haldia a year ago, trade from here is yet to take off at the desired pace, given the potential, M.T. Krishnababu, chairman of Visakhapatnam Port said. Addressing a workshop on Nepal-India trade here on Wednesday, he felt that Nepal should set up a Consulate or a Trade Facilitation Centre here to bolster trade from the city to Nepal.

The VPT chairman said the port had a container terminal with a deep draft that can be used by the Nepalese trade. “Though geographically Kolkata/Haldia may be nearer to Nepal, Vizag may work out cheaper given our facilities here,” he said. The Nepalese trade could also take advantage from the Rs 500 crore logistics park set up by the Container Corporation of India, as also the elaborate rail connectivity that the city has.

Nepal’s Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said India was not only Nepal’s biggest trading partner, but also the main transit country for its third country export and imports. “Twenty years ago, trade with India accounted for only a third of Nepal’s total foreign trade, whereas the proportion has now increased to almost two third.  Our trade linkage with India has increased both in volume and proportion,” he said.

He, however, pointed out that despite the growth in trade volumes, the growing trade deficit with India has been a “matter of serious concern” for Nepal. Issues such as how can Nepal bridge this gap, a possible review of bilateral trade treaty, non-tariff barriers and impact of GST on bi-lateral trade were discussed at the workshop. Purushottam Ojha, a former Nepalese bureaucrat, said the India-Nepal trade treaties would have to be revisited to remove some of the obstacles.