Nepal to ratify WTO-TFA

Kathmandu, Sept. 30: Minister for Commerce Romi Gauchan Thakali has said that the government would soon ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement relating to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Speaking at a function organised to disseminate the findings of the ‘trade and transport facilitation audit in South Asia’, he said that the Agreement would help Nepal in promoting international trade as it was aimed at enhancing efficiency.

Trade facilitation is aimed at improving the procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across borders in order to reduce related cost burdens and maximise efficiency while safeguarding legitimate regulatory objectives.

The WTO members reached consensus on the Agreement at the Bali Ministerial Conference in 2013. As a member of the WTO, Nepal is obligated to ratify the document.

“Seamless trade in the South Asia Region is important for unleashing the potential of trade for poverty reduction. Poor connectivity and trade facilitation have affected regional trade. Therefore, although the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) is in force since 2006, regional trade is not encouraging in the region,” said Minister Gauchan.

President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Suraj Vaidya, said that the commitments made by the governments in South Asia looked promising, but it was only the private sector that has been trying to move ahead.

He complained that the government responses were not very encouraging, and this was further hampered by issues that came up from time to time like the recent postponement of the 19^th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad.

Director for Trade, Finance and Economics at the SAARC Secretariat, L. Savithri, said that business should be put ahead of politics and that the business community in the SAARC countries could push for greater regional cooperation in South Asia.

Chairman of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, said that the research had contributed to identifying the trade and transport related bottlenecks in region and estimating the required investment for adopting considerable trade facilitation measures.