The representatives of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and its Indian counterpart Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Joint Economic Council, who met in New Delhi recently have called upon their respective governments to finalize the railway agreement in the absence of which the dry port at Birgunj has not been able to come into operation.
Nepal and India have held two rounds of talks to sign the railway agreement both of which were inconclusive. The first high level talks were held in May last year while the second one was held in September.
India has been checking Nepali goods at the Calcutta port and at Raxaul, the border entry point near Birgunj. Nepal has been proposing that the goods should be checked only at one point to avoid hassles after the operation of the dry port. But India has been sticking to its demand that goods should be checked at both the points.
The Indian side has also been demanding that the Indian trucks should be allowed to enter Nepal for transporting goods without any restriction to which Nepal has not agreed so far. The two leading business organizations that met in New Delhi have formed two separate joint task forces on Railway Agreement and Quarantine.
The delay being caused in the signing of the Railway agreement has been incurring huge losses to Nepal as it has to transport goods all the way from Calcutta. The dry port in Birgunj was constructed under the assistance of the Asian Development Bank.