NCC urges envoy Sharma to facilitate Nepal-India trade

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Nov. 20: The Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged the newly appointed Ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma, to facilitate Nepal-India trade and attract investment in Nepal. During a meeting held on Tuesday at the NCC building in Kathmandu, Chamber President Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal said that despite Nepal adopting a free and open trade policy with India, the country is yet to see practical benefits.

Agrawal stated that while imports from India generally face few hurdles, exports encounter difficulties, especially at customs, where smooth facilitation is lacking. The Chamber also suggested to Ambassador Sharma that promoting tourism and attracting investment could help reduce Nepal's trade deficit with India. Agrawal also emphasised the need to attract Indian investment, particularly in the hydropower and service sectors, to address the growing trade imbalance.

The NCC urged Ambassador Sharma to work on improving railway transportation and to establish an international-standard quarantine lab at customs checkpoints to ease the cross-border trade with India. 

Agrawal also drew attention to the lack of a high-quality quarantine lab, which hampers the ability to assess the quality of goods imported from and exported to India.

 “Export facilitation should be prioritised to secure long-term trade benefits in India. Effective measures must also be taken for the operation of railways and waterways,” Agrawal stated.

Chamber officials made complaints about the difficulties faced by Nepali traders at Visakhapatnam Port, Odisha’s Dhamra Port, and Gujarat’s Mundra Port. They complained that containers carrying Nepali goods often experience long delays, increasing costs, and urged better transit arrangements.

In response, Ambassador Sharma expressed his commitment to prioritising the reduction of the trade deficit and the facilitation of exports. He also pledged to take steps towards establishing a quarantine lab and emphasised his efforts to attract investment through enhanced collaboration between the private sectors of Nepal and India.