& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Nepal looks to use Ctg port, railways

Star Business Report
Nepal has expressed interest in using Chittagong port and railways routes in Bangladesh to carry their transit goods, which will ultimately boost bilateral trade between the two nations, Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior secretary to the commerce ministry, said yesterday.
Nepal placed its demand at the third commercesecretary level meeting that came to an end in Dhaka yesterday.
Bangladesh is also considering allowing Nepal for using the Chittagong, Payra and Mongla ports under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) agreement to boost subregional connectivity, Mamoon added.
The countries also agreed to launch a tourist package - "from the highest peak to the longest sea beach" - between the two countries to tap the potential of tourism, Mamoon said.
The visa system for tourists of both countries would also be simplified further, he added.
"At the meeting, both Bangladesh and Nepal agreed to remove trade barriers through discussion to increase regional trade," he said. The South Asian Free Trade Area or SAFTA is at one of the lowest regional trading points in the world, he added.
The intra-regional trade among the eight South Asian nations is nearly 5 percent while it is more than 50 percent in the EU and US regional trade blocs, he said.
Once the BBIN goes into operation, regional trade will increase due to a higher rate of connectivity, he said.
At the meeting, Bangladesh has sought a duty-benefit for 56 items on export to Nepal. The products include fish, potato chips, wafers, construction materials, refrigerators, lead acid battery, garments, plastic goods, cement, tobacco, tomato sauce and biscuits.
On the other hand, Bangladesh offered duty-free benefits to 108 products of Nepal. The commerce ministry of Bangladesh has been preparing the modalities on how to allow the duty-benefit to Nepal and on how many products.
The delegations also discussed the modalities of transit cargo transportation between Bangladesh and Nepal and a full-fledged launch of the Kakarbhita-Panirtanki-Fulbari commercial routes.
The issues also include participation in trade fairs in each country, improving the tourism sector, investing in hydroelectricity by Nepal, easing the registration process of pharmaceutical products and signing a memorandum of understanding between Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and PublicTrading Corporation of Nepal.
Mamoon and Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya, the Nepalese commerce secretary, represented their own sides.