Govt okays Trans-Asia railway network pact

KATHMANDU, Dec 21: The government has endorsed the Inter-governmental Agreement on Trans-Asia Railway Network - a pact that will enable Nepal to connect the railway lines, which it is planning to develop, with railway networks of Asia and Europe, facilitating uninterrupted movement of people and goods.



The cabinet meeting held last week approved the crucial agreement proposed by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) after seeking consent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ) and Ministry of Finance (MoF). [break]



Following the cabinet approval, the MoPPW on Monday forwarded the agreement to the parliament for ratification via MoLJ.



The ratification was much delayed mainly as the government showed apathy to endorse the pact signed at a meeting of Transport and Railway Ministers of 17 Asian countries in Busan in 2006.



"Approval of the agreement is the demonstration of the government commitment to enter into the Trans-Asia Railway Network. This will greatly facilitate movement of people and goods via Nepal to other Asian and European countries," Ram Kumar Lamsal, director general of Department of Railway, told Republica. "We will immediately send the ratification paper to UN once the parliament ratifies it."



If ratified, the agreement will not only pave the way for increasing trade with partner countries in the region, but also facilitate the development of internal network of railway.



The agreement was signed in Busan, South Korea under the initiation of UN Economic and Social Commission Asia and the Pacific (UNSCAP). Along with Nepal, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are also signatories to the agreement.



Hence, it is regarded as a major breakthrough in the planned development of cross-continent transportation system across the Asia-Pacific region.



The inter-governmental agreement is expected to ensure greater connectivity for wider mobility of goods and persons through further link with the 81,000-km trans-continental railway network in Eurasia region.



"This agreement is crucial for landlocked countries like Nepal that are facing different problems in transit of goods," added Lamsal.



The proposed railway network starts on the Pacific seaboard of Asia and ends up on the doorstep of Europe. It will cover 28 countries, which are the members of UNSCAP, and will provide greater regional connectivity between the two continents," said Lamsal.



So far, one and half a dozen countries in the region including China, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Russia and South Korea - have ratified the agreement. The pact would be effective once at least eight of the member countries ratify it.

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