Kathmandu, February 13:

Puroshottam Ojha, secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MCoS), during a programme on enhancing Nepal’s trade related capacity/UNDP organised by MCoS in association with World Trade Organization (WTO), urged for meaningful integration and collaborative approach between WTO and the Ministry for trade development initiatives to be taken.

Ojha said the two major points for enhancement of trade were generation of employment and reduction of poverty. he added, “The major problem in trade is supply constraint. We need to identify and develop potential products and move up in the value chain to sustain in the long run in the world market.”

Ojha added that the volume of export had declined since the international market now has a number of countries with their own products. Joining SAFTA has created trade diversion effect, and it could be good in the long run, he said adding that the issue of WTO ought to be raised in the Constitutent Assembly (CA), so that CA members become aware of it.

Dr Badri Pokhrel, Joint Secretary at MoCS, stressed that getting the WTO membership was not enough and that the country needed easy access to the international market. Speaking at an interaction on ‘Seizing Benefits of Multilateral Trading System: Role of Aid for Trade and Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)’, Shishir Priyadarshi, Director, Development Division, WTO talked about major markets and products of LDCs.

Nepal is a member of WTO since April 2004. It is one of the first two LDCs to accede to the WTO through the full working party process.