The LoEs are related to the use of Vishakhapatnam port and Fulbari-Banglabandha route by Nepal, bulk cargo through Biratnagar and Bhairahawa, extension of the railway service and allowing Indian traders to use Nepal as a transit route to deliver goods from one part of India to another.

A ministry source said Indian authority concerned has agreed to allow Nepal to transport goods from the Vishakhapatnam port to Birgunj-based Inland Clearance Depot (ICD). “However, Nepal has sought connectivity between Vishakhapatnam and other dry ports of Nepal,” the source said.

Currently, Nepal has been allowed to use Kolkata port only.

Although India agreed to allow Nepal to use the Vishakhapatnam port during then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s India visit five years ago, but Nepal has not been able to use the port due to delays in paperwork.

On the LoE on bulk cargo, India has asked the Nepal government to specify the products that will be imported through Kolkata/Haldia-Jogbani-Biratnagar and Kolkata/Haldia-Nautanwa/Sunauli-Bhairahawa trade routes. India is currently providing the bulk cargo facility only through the Birgunj dry port. A source said the government, in the LoE forwarded to India earlier, had sought the entry of bulk cargo covering all types of products, including clinker and cement, through the new routes.

Under the railway service agreement, India has mentioned allowing only closed wagon containers, but Nepal has also sought open wagon containers, said the source. “We cannot import goods like coal and iron rods in closed containers,” said the source.

Government officials said India has sought some amendments to Nepal’s proposal on allowing Indian traders to use Nepali land as transit route and non-tariff barriers.

Although India has provided transit facility to Nepal through the Phulbari-Banglabanda route to reach Bangladesh, the road is in poor condition and Nepal faces many hassles there. India had agreed in principle to issue during the Inter-Governmental Committee meeting held in Kathmandu on December 21-22, 2013.

MoCS Joint Secretary Jib Raj Koirala said the government would review the Indian side’s remarks on the LoEs and forward them to the Indian government after holding consultations with stakeholders. “We have already started the consultations,” he said.