Through the MoCS, the government had proposed a project few weeks back seeking support from ITC, which is the implementing agency of Enhance Integrated Framework (EIF) under the WTO.“[break]
"Positively responding to our request for its support to promote Nepali pashmina, the ITC sent to us the final offer last week. We are preparing to call a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the contents of the offer from ITC before forwarding it back to it for formal pact," Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) told Republica on Saturday.
National Steering Committee (NSS) headed by the chief secretary will endorse the proposal once a technical committee, which comprises representatives also from private sector, finalizes the proposals on behalf of Nepal.
The NSS, comprises representatives from Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA), Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Ministry of Agriculture Development and MoCS.
After a series of meeting with ICT representatives involving government officers and private sector representatives in Nepal in July, the government had recently put forth a formal request to the Geneva-based organization for its support to boosting production and export of Chyangra Pashmina.
The three-member delegation, which includes senior expert on textile and clothing Matthias Knappe, trade support institutions expert John Gillies and country manager for Nepal Govind Venuprasad had held initial discussions with Nepali officials and private sector leaders on supporting Chyangra Pashmina, during its four-day mission.“
"We are calling a meeting of technical committee to finalize the ICT´s proposal within a couple of days. We will send the final proposal to ICT once our NSS endorses the technical committee´s proposal. Then process of signing a formal agreement with ICT will be initiated," said Gyawali.
"We are planning to forward the final proposal to ITC by December this year for EIF board´s approval," said Buddhi Prasad Upadhyaya, EIF National Program Manager for Nepal.
According to Upadhyaya, total cost of the project for promotion of Pashmina has been proposed at US$ 2 million, which includes US$ 1.8 million to be provided by ITC and US$ 200,000 from the Nepal government.
The three-year project is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of Chyangra Pashmina by establishing backward linkage with value-chain among mountain goat farmers, wool processors and exporters and forward linkage that includes promotional activities such as publicity of the trade mark, international marketing and advertisement in the global media.
The project includes nine actions, including promotion of mountain goats farming, setting up pashmina processing plants on cooperative basis, implementation of sericulture projects to boost production of silk, setting up quality testing lab, conducting feasibility study to set up pashmina spinning plants and promotion of Chyangra Pashmina trademark in the international market, among others.
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