CHINA WORKING TO MAKE NEPAL TRANSIT POINT FOR SINO-INDIAN TRADE

Excerpt from report by Nepalese newspaper Kantipur on 8 June

Lhasa (Tibet), 7 June: The Chinese government has started doing homework to develop Nepal as a transit point to promote Sino-India trade. King Gyanendra announced in the Asian-African Summit [in Jakarta this year] that Nepal was ready to become a transit point.

Chinese officials told a group of visiting journalists in Tibet, the government has started working to make Nepal a transit point. "We are making plans to make Nepal a transit point between the two countries," said Wang Jingran [untraced], deputy chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region's Reform and Development Bureau.

The Nepalese king said in April in Jakarta and Boao summit [Boao Forum for Asia] in China that Nepal was willing to become a transit point for both India and China. In an intergovernmental economic meeting held last year, India asked for transit facility to transport goods to China. Following Nepal's agreement, China has started to do its homework.

Nepal can directly benefit by providing transit facility to India and China. The Commerce Ministry says this will help develop Nepal's services sector and physical infrastructure. [passage omitted]

Source: Kantipur, Kathmandu, in Nepali 8 Jun 05