Look at all thse set up, aaba k..k..sign garera aaune bhayo Girija Buda le
New Delhi all set to red-carpet new premier Koirala
BY SURENDRA PHUYAL
NEW DELHI, June 5 - With economic and political issues topping the agenda, democratic Nepal's new Prime Minister G.P. Koirala will embark on a goodwill visit of India, the first after his appointment after Parliament was restored in April, on Tuesday.
As preparations got underway to welcome Koirala, an official at the Nepalese Embassy said Koirala will lead a 41-member delegation including four ministers -- Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, Local Development Minister Rajendra Pandey, Minister for Housing and Works Gopal Man Shrestha and Minister for Women and Social Welfare Urmila Aryal.
Acting Foreign Secretary Pradip Khatiwada and Industry and Commerce Secretary Bharat Thapa will also be part of the official delegation, while other members will include a business delegation led by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) chief Chandi Dhakal and 13 journalists.
The four-day visit will see hectic Indo-Nepal parleys -- pretty much stalled after February 1, 2005 -- between top leaders and officials of the two South Asian neighbours with "special, civilizational ties". And if a Hindustan Times report today is anything to go by, India will announce a special economic package worth Indian Rs 1 billion (or 100 Crores).
Whether India will provide that amount as direct budgetary assistance is yet unclear. Bulk of the assistance is expected to be funnelled for reconstruction. Also, India is also expected to formally announce the waiver the four percent additional custom duty being imposed on Nepali exports after India's 2005/'06 fiscal budget announcement. That will come as a huge sigh of relief for Nepalese businessmen.
Sources say India has been imposing additional customs duty on Nepali products against the spirit of the 1999 Nepal-India Trade treaty [interestingly, another landlocked Himalayan nation, Bhutan, has been consistently enjoying the special waiver]. Annual Nepalese exports to India are reckoned at US $ 560 million.
Besides, India will also need to ensure the speedy payment of the excise duty payback amount worth I Rs 1 billion. Already, under its present economic schemes, projects worth IRs 1.800 billion are being implemented in Nepal. However, in its current budget, India marginally reduced the allocation for Nepal to IRs 650 million from IRs 660 million last year.
Meantime, it's unclear how the issue of payment recoveries from Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), which owes over I Rs 1 billion to India, and the Ministry of Defence, which owes an unspecified amount to the Indian Defence Ministry, will be handled during the official discussions.
Source: Kantipuronline (Hahahahaha)
