China grants Nepal access to its ports

Officials from Nepal and China finalised a transit protocol that would give Kathmandu access to Chinese ports.

The Nepal-China Transit and Transportation Agreement, which was finalised on Friday, will allow Nepal to use the Chinese ports of Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang, and Zhanjiang, said a statement from Nepal's industry and commerce ministry.

As per the agreement made over the trade and transit treaty between the Nepali and Chinese governments in 2016, the third consolatory meeting of the agreement protocol was held from August 4 to 6 in Kathmandu.

In the meeting, the Nepali delegation was headed by Rabi Shankar Sainju, the Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the Chinese delegation was led by Wang Supling, the Director General from the Transport Service Office, Ministry of Transport.

 

Discussions were held on the provisions of customs, means of transport, shipping process and other issues pertaining to the transit in a cordial environment before giving the final form to the draft of the transit protocol, the statement added.

Representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Law, Justice, and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Customs Department, Nepali Embassy in Beijing and other concerning authorities of Nepal were present in the meeting.

Likewise, from the Chinese side, representatives from the Ministry of Transport, Foreign Ministry, Engineering Supervision Department, National Railway Administration, and other concerning bodies participated.

Officials from both Nepal and China also inspected the Prithvi Highway earlier on Tuesday.

Nepal, a landlocked country, is heavily dependent on its neighbours, particularly India, for essential goods and the use of ports for trade with other countries. The finalisation of the transit protocol would also allow Kathmandu to access Chinese sea and land ports.