Officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies informed Republica that representatives of different government agencies on Monday will express commitment before the donor community to prioritize trade in government´s planning in the coming days. [break]“We expect the representatives of the donor agencies to reciprocate,” they said.
High-ranking officials of MoCS, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and National Planning Commission (NPC) are participating in the meeting.[break]
“In the meeting, we are formally presenting the government´s commitment to prioritize trade development in government programs. Representatives of donor communities are also expected to express their commitment for assistance to enhance Nepal´s foreign trade,” said Chandra Kumar Ghimire, joint secretary at MoCS.
Ghimire said the Nepali side will seek cooperation from donor communities to remove non-tariff barriers and technical barriers for easy access of Nepali goods to international market. “We are also seeking their support in strengthening Nepal´s capacity to boost ´Inclusive Export´ in which disadvantaged groups will be involved in trade.
“We will also request donors for trade related technical assistance and to support us in the sector of capacity building for negotiations on trade related issues,” Ghimire added.
The government has prioritized programs to boost trade in the interim plan. MoCS has proposed a ´token budget´ of Rs 50 million for the development of trade in the upcoming budget. It has formed National Implementation Unit (NIU) - having representation from different line ministries -- at MoCS to negotiate with donor agencies for different trade related projects with donor agencies.
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