KATHMANDU : India today said it is willing to have a re-look at the 1955 Transit Treaty with Nepal as Commerce Secretaries of the two sides began two-day talks here to boost trade and bilateral cooperation.
“India is willing to re-look at the 1955 Transit Treaty between Nepal and India if Nepal wants so,” Commerce Secretary S R Rao told journalists before the start of the Inter- Governmental Committee (ICG) meeting.
India is also ready to look into all pending issues related to trade, transit and tariffs, he said.
During the meeting, Nepal asked India to supply 10,000 cows to help it overcome a severe shortage of milk.
“We have asked India to provide us with 10,000 cows so that our domestic milk shortage can be tackled,” said Joint Secretary Jeev Raj Koirala of Nepal’s Commerce Ministry.
The Commerce Secretaries will focus on trade and transit facilitation, trade infrastructure development and follow up past agreements during the meet.
The meeting will also discuss measures to prevent unauthorised and illegal trade between the two countries, said Koirala.
The high-level meeting is being held after a gap of two years. The 22-member Nepalese delegation is led by Commerce Secretary Madhav Prasad Regmi while the 11-member Indian delegation is led by Rao.
The meeting will look into pending issues related to trade, transit and tariffs and resolve them at the earliest, Regmi told journalists before the meeting began.
Regmi said the two sides will also discuss ways to address Nepal’s huge trade deficit with India of about Rs 400 billion or USD 4 billion.
They will also explore the possibility of collaboration in clean energy, including solar, wind and bio-gas, he said. (AGENCIES)
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