Officials from the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and the North East Development Finance Corporation of India held discussions on a wide range of trade and transit issues in Kathmandu on Thursday.

The meeting, chaired by NICCI President Shreejana Rana, informed the visiting Indian delegation they have constituted nine different working committees to look after the issues of different sectors between Nepal and India.

Rana emphasised the opportunities and challenges in trade.

“As we have huge potential in hydropower, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism, collaboration in such sectors could be beneficial to investors as well as the government of both countries.”

Rajan Sharma, the convener of the Trade and Transit Committee, highlighted the issues related to trade and transit.

“At present, the custodian right of Nepali goods is in the hands of the Indian clearing agents. This is a big problem as the legal provisions shift the liability to the clearing agent and therefore, the dispute arises as the clearing agent cannot claim money from importers of Nepal and can always shift the problem.”

Sharma said that the electronic cargo tracking system between India and Nepal is of no use and costs at least INR 3,400 per container. “This is too expensive and Nepali importers should not be made to pay such charges for tracking the transit cargo within Indian territory.”

Convener of the Energy Committee Batu Lamichhane highlighted the current status of power generation and power trade status.

Lamichhane informed that Nepal produces 3,339 MW during the wet season with a surplus of 1,205 MW.

He said that coal-based power plants in India could be replaced with the surplus and there are big opportunities for Indian investors to come and invest in hydropower projects in Nepal.