Nepal for stronger global partnership for LDCs development

Nepal has urged the developed countries to fulfill their commitments and support trade and development of least developed countries (LDCs).
Speaking at a 25th special session of UNCTAD in Geneva, Shankar Bairagi, permanent representative of Nepal in Geneva said Nepal, like all LDCs would like to graduate from LDC status, and for this the support of the developed nations as well as UN bodies was important. He also urged for renewal of global partnership in order to uplift the situation of LDCs.
According to a press release, Bairagi said the UN had more special responsibilities to advance the lives of millions of people living under extreme poverty and hunger. Around more than 700 million people in 48 LDCs live under the poverty and minimum standards of basic facilities.
“International community can´t afford to remain silent when a large chunk of humanity is still grappling with dehumanizing condition of poverty and hunger,” the release quotes Bairagi as saying.
He viewed the upcoming thirteenth conference on trade and development of UNCTAD in Doha on April 21 to 26 could contribute towards renewed realization of strengthened global partnership for the development of LDCs.
“LDCs are not asking for the best of affluence; they are seeking to meet the minimum developmental standards of their people and UNCTAD has a special responsibility to assist LDCs in their development process,” he argued.

Entrepreneurs to utilize zero-duty facility

Trade and Export promotion Centre (TEPC) and Nepal Freight Forwarders´ Association (NEFFA) have agreed to develop programs to utilize the duty-free market access facility provided by European Union to the least-developed countries.
At a program organized in the capital on Tuesday, representatives from TEPC and NEFFA agreed to hold discussions for tapping the trade opportunity in the EU countries.
In the context of the Doha Development Agenda, participants stressed the need to ensure better economic integration between developing and developed countries through improved access to the markets of developed countries, NEFFA said in a press release.
The participants also urged the developed countries to simply rules of origin so that LDCs could benefit from exports trade

SEZ bill through ordinance: Minister Jha

Minister for Industry Anil Kumar Jha on Monday said the government will enact the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bill through ordinance before the upcoming session of parliament to address investors´ concerns and promote industries.
“I have already discussed the possibility of enacting SEZ bill through ordinance before the next session of parliament with the prime minister,” said Jha.
Speaking at a program organized to discuss on draft Industrial Enterprise Act (IEA), Jha said the government was prepared to enact the law through ordinance as opposition from a faction of UCPN Maoist forced him to withdraw the bill from regular agenda during the last session of the parliament.
“SEZ bill was the top agenda of the first parliament meeting of last session. But we had to withdraw it after Chief Whip of Maoist Dev Gurung warned his party would protest it strongly and even disrupt proceeding if the bill was added in the official business list of the house,” said Jha.
Jha said the government was holding talks with major political parties to put in place SEZ Act through ordinance. “I am also planning to approach President Ram Baran Yadav in this regard.”
SEZ bill was tabled in the parliament three years ago. Initially, labor unions protested saying it does not protect labor rights. But after trade unions softened their stance, resistance from a faction of Maoist emerged.
Gurung said the bill was against the national interest and would exploit natural resources and labor rights.
Industrialists, meanwhile, requested the government to implement the IEA through ordinance. “As the next session of parliament will begin only after few months, chances of IEA being ratified do not appear anytime soon. It might also face similar dilly dallying,” said Lawmaker and President of Confederation Nepalese Industries Binod Chaudhari said.
He also urged the government to provide all the facilities promised in the new Industrial Policy through upcoming budget for fiscal year 2012/13.
Commenting on the draft IEA which Ministry of Industry circulated for wider consultation, industrialists urged the government to list major manufacturing industries in the Act itself so there were confusion over facilities and incentives they should get.
“The draft should also incorporate a provision for forming Investment Promotion Trust and Technology Development Fund, which are incorporated in the Industrial Policy,” said Hari Bhakta Sharma, vice president of CNI.
In addition to that, entrepreneurs also demanded the government to clearly define small, medium and large scale industries and make the provisions of incentives more specific for them.

ICC Nepal team meets PM Bhattarai

A delegation of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nepal led by its president Rajesh Kaji Shrestha on Sunday met Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai and requested him to ensure representation of ICC Nepal in government agencies.
Issuing a press release, ICC said the delegation requested PM Bhattarai to amend necessary laws in line with the ICC standards.
“The delegation briefed the PM about the standards set by ICC on issues like protection of intellectual property rights, arbitration and anti-dumping law,” reads the release.
Moreover, the delegation also informed PM that ICC Nepal was planning to lunch various programs in order to raise awareness about the importance and practicality of ICC.
Responding to the delegation, PM Bhattarai said the government was always ready to join hands with the private sector. Bhattarai also appreciated the efforts of ICC Nepal in raising awareness about international standards of intellectual property rights, arbitration and anti-dumping laws.

Nepali traders continue to face problems

Officials from India and Nepal are yet to address problems that have surfaced after scrapping of the duty refundable procedure (DRP) on March 1. The delay has added financial burden on traders who are importing goods like industrial raw material and vehicles from India.
Scrapping of the DRP paved the way for Nepali traders to receive goods at ex-factory rate (devoid of excise duty) and government to collect excise duty at customs points. But soon after the new arrangement was made Indian exporters said Nepali importers should make payment in the US currency if they are to get the supply on ex-factory rates. The problem was settled and Nepali traders are importing good in Indian currency.
But less than three weeks after the new arrangement came into place, traders are faced with yet other problems.
First, Nepali customs officers are imposing 10 percent extra valuation on goods imported from India instead of making the valuation of consignments at ex-factory rate. And second, Indian exporters have been asked by the customs office to dispatch consignments to Nepal only after keeping a collateral of 10 percent of the value of goods.
Shiv Shankar, an Indian customs officer, said the collateral amount has to be arranged by Nepali traders to ensure goods enter Nepal. "The money will be refunded to the Nepali importers later," he said.
To settle the problem, Nepali traders had approached the Indian embassy in the first week of March. But so far Indian officials haven´t communicated with Nepal´s Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS).
"We haven´t heard anything from the Indian side," Naindra Prasad Upadhaya, MoCS joint secretary told Republica on Saturday. However, he said that he had received information from different customs points that imports of excisable goods, like industrial raw material and automobiles, have normalized in the last few days.
"But problems in valuation of imported goods at Nepali customs office remain intact," Pashupati Murarka, vice president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) told Republica on Saturday. This has forced traders to pay extra customs duty since goods worth, say, Rs 100 are being taxed at the rate of Rs 110.
After much problems and hindrance in import of excisable goods, Morang Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) organized a program in Biratnagar, where customs officials from India and Nepal including Shankar and Binod Kunwar, cusotms chief of Rani Custom´s office of Nepal were present.
"Importers have problems while importing industrial raw materials after scrapping of DRP system," Dinesh Golchha, president of Morang Industry Association (MIA), said during the discussion.
Abhinash Bohara, president of Morang Merchants´ Association (MMA) said: "Customs offices from Nepal and India should work efficiently to clear the confusion that created hurdles in import of excisable goods after scrapping DRP."
(With contribution from Ajit Tiwari in Biratnagar)

Agriculture minister agrees to review ADS draft team

Following strong criticism and protests from farmers and civil society members, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative (MoAC) has decided to review the structure and modus operandi of technical assistance team that is drafting a new 20-year agriculture vision document -- Agriculture Development Strategy (2015-2035).
The ministry has also formed a committee to investigate why farmers were not represented in the team, which was formed last year.
"Points raised by farmers about the way the government is developing the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) are pretty valid. It was wrong not to ensure farmers´ participation in such a crucial task," said Nandan Kumar Datta, minister for agriculture and cooperatives.
Datta, who on Thursday held talks with representatives of farmers´ organizations and related civil society organizations in the presence of senior ministry officials and members of technical team drafting ADS, said that he would work to review the team.
"I have directed senior ministry officials to work to accommodate the farmers´ concerns," Datta told Republica. "I also want to know why farmers were excluded, so a committee has been formed to find out the reason," he added.
During the talks, Minister Datta assured the farmers and civil society members that the reviewed team would have maximum possible representation of farmers and organizations working to protect farmers´ interests.
The government had initiated process to develop ADS -- a document that will replace the Agriculture Perspective Plan 1995-2015 -- in 2011 and had formed a 33-member technical team by including former bureaucrats and foreign consultants about a year ago to draft it.
The document is being prepared with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and USAID, among others. The government has allocated US$ 2 million (about Rs 160 million) for developing ADS.
However, representatives of farmers´ organizations as well as civil society groups during Thursday´s meeting with Minister Datta said the whole idea of getting 20-year agricultural vision document prepared by technocrats and foreign consultants, who have little idea of farmers´ needs and concerns, was wrong.
"We informed the minister that our farmers have already suffered a lot because of implementation of similarly drafted APP. We cannot afford to compromise this time -- as ADS will affect the whole agricultural sector for decades till 2035," said Prem Dangal, general secretary of the All Nepal Peasants Federation (ANPF), who was present at the meeting.
Farmers´ representatives strongly protested the approach of preparing such a crucial document behind closed doors, saying that vision document prepared by "so called agro-experts and foreign experts" might not address farmers´ concerns and agricultural reality of the country.

Nepal requests support for enhancing productivity, quality

Nepal on Thursday requested the trading and development partners to support it in setting up quality laboratories and testing facilities in order to help the country meet and certify that its products meet international standards.
Commerce Secretary Lal Mani Joshi made such a request while speaking at the concluding session of Nepal´s trade policy review (TPR) at the head office of World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.
According to a press release issued by the office of permanent mission in Geneva, Joshi emphasized that Nepal has accorded high priority to improve trade facilitation measures and taken concrete steps toward reducing transaction costs by simplifying the trade and transit related procedures. The TPR meeting of Nepal had begun from Tuesday.
During the TPR, a number of delegations from USA, Japan, India and China among others had raised a number of questions related to Nepal´s compliance with WTO commitments, trade and investments. "Joshi responded to those questions and thanked the WTO members for their appreciation of Nepal´s efforts in liberalizing trade and investment," reads the release.
Joshi, who highlighted Nepal´s efforts at promoting investments such as formation of high-level Investment Board, also expressed commitment that Nepal would continue its efforts to promote international trade by reforming investment regime. "We are trying our best to attract investment in infrastructure, particularly hydro-electricity and transport connectivity, and in other priority sectors such as tourism and agriculture," the release quoted Joshi as saying.
He also requested all the trading and development partners to enhance and scale up their support to Nepal in terms of market access and enhancing productivity.
As the Chair of the TPR body, Ambassador Eduardo Munoz of Colombia stated that the first-ever TPR of Nepal has given a better understanding of development in Nepal, particularly its trade and related policies and practices. Nepal joined WTO in 2004.