Nepal to push for reducing trade gap with India

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KATHMANDU, Oct 14 (Xinhua): Nepal is preparing to ask India to do away with non-tariff barriers on its exports in order to reduce the yawning trade gap.
The Nepali officials will put forth their concern at the inter-governmental committee (IGC) meeting slated to begin in New Delhi, India from Thursday.
"The main issue from our side will be how to increase our exports to India," Surya Prasad Silwal, a joint secretary at the ministry of commerce and supplies, told Tuesday's Kantipur daily.
Other agenda to be raised by Nepal includes issues related with quota, standard certification, tax waiver and quarantine.
The IGC is a secretary-level meeting point between the two countries. Secretary at the ministry of commerce and supplies Purushottam Ojha will lead Nepali delegation.
Nepal's trade gap with India has surged in recent times to cross 100 billion Nepali rupees (some 1.35 billion US dollars), according to the report.
Meanwhile, Nepal has formally expressed interest in re-entering the poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF), a programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that ensures IMF's close surveillance of the country's financial discipline and supports it to maintain financial stability.
According to Tuesday's The Kathmandu Post daily, the Nepali delegation made the request to IMF Sunday after bilateral and multilateral donors from whom it had requested budgetary and more developmental assistance suggested the need for reliable international surveillance to ensure that Nepal practices a prudent financial system.
"As the IMF programme sends a positive signal to donors that we have prudent policies and qualify for more assistance and investments, we have requested it to resume its financial surveillance," a member of the Nepali delegation told the daily.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is in Washington, DC to attend the annual meeting of the governors of IMF and the World Bank, held bilateral talks with the finance minister of Bolivia.
He also met with IMF Deputy Managing Director Takatoshi Kato and discussed the government's plans and policies. Bhattarai expressed his commitment to adhere to financial norms. He also requested IMF to extend all possible support to Nepal.
According to the report, IMF said it was positive in restarting the PRGF programme, but the final decision to this effect would be taken only after reviewing the financial report of the last fiscal year when Nepal remained out of the PRGF programme following its expiry.
Nepal had joined IMF's PRGF programme in 2003 and qualified for a standby credit worth 73.9 million US dollars to maintain financial stability. The programme expired in November 2007, and the government showed little interest to renew it amid internal instability and political changes.
A Nepali official said that an IMF mission would be visiting Nepal in November to take stock of the country's financial and policy status. It will also discuss with the government the possible outlook of the new programme.