Advancing Nepal

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Advancing Nepals Trade Agenda Through
Effective Implementation of NTIS 2010

• Chandra Ghimire
• Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce Supplies
• chandrakg64_at_yahoo.com
• Presented to
• A GoN-Development Partners Consultation Meeting
• Kathmandu, Nepal, 07 February 2011

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Outline of the Presentation

• Objectives of today's Meeting
• Why Trade is a Must? And What approach serve the
  best?
• Current Status of NTIS Implementation
• Briefing on NTIS 2010
• Problems/obstacles for implementation
• Approach and strategies followed by GoN to
  overcome problems for successful implementation
  of NTIS 2010
• National Implementation Arrangement
• What do we expect from our DPs?
• Conclusion

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Objectives of Todays Meeting

• To brief on implementation status of NTIS 2010
• Hearing from DPs- on possible way out for
  coordinated efforts in advancing Nepals trade
  agenda
• Obtaining DPs commitments for specific NTIS
  activities

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Why TRADE is a must ?

• "Inclusive Growth" is a pre-requisite for
  alleviating poverty,
• Trade is an engine of "Inclusive Growth",
• Export is a triggering factor for Trade, since
• Nepal has comparative competitive advantages in
  certain goods services,
• Nepal's own internal market small but huge
  markets available in its two giant neighbors with
  miracle growth
• Value addition seems in certain goods to be very
  high
• Market access available through multilateral,
  regional and bilateral arrangements
• Being a LDC special privilege i.e. DF
  (zero-tariff in EC, Australia, Canada, HK, India,
  China, Japan, USA etc.)

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What Approach the Best Serving?

• By increasing supply side capacity of the country
• By promoting the goods services with high value
  addition
• By focusing on 'inclusive growth', i.e.
  employment income, supporting marginalized
  areas groups
• NTIS 2010 in effect to serve these approaches

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What is NTIS 2010?

• National trade strategy to enhance 'supply side
  capacity' for Nepal's space in global market
• Prioritized strategy launched by PM himself on 24
  June 2010
• An outcome of analysis consultation with
• National stakeholders i.e. Government agencies,
  business organizations FNCCI, CNI, CoC, product
  associations, national
• International experts, DPs
• But steered by GoN

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Salient Features of NTIS 2010

• 19 goods services identified as priority items
• Plus 5 other goods/services suggested
• 10 most potential destination markets identified
• Engaging of multiple agencies, i.e., GoN's 17
  ministries/agencies as well as business
  organizations
• An Action Matrix under four strategic objectives
  suggested
• Product specific actions for priority export
  sectors suggested
• 3-5 years period for implementation

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Salient Features of NTIS 2010.

• Having 4 strategies
• Strengthening trade negotiation
• Strengthening NTB related domestic capacity
• Strengthening supply capacity of "inclusive
  exports
• Strengthening capacity for managing AfT TRTAs
• Having 87 cross cutting actions and 171
  product/service specific total 268 actions to
  be implemented.

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Problems of Nepals Trade Sector (Obstacles for
NTIS Implementation)

• Poor capacity to capitalize the opportunity of
  WTO accession and various RTAs/FTAs
• Poor mainstreaming of trade
• Steadily growing trade deficit over last FYs
• Poor implementation of DTIS 2004 and needs of
  updating it as per changed contexts
• Challenge of 'Inclusive Growth as TYP for
  poverty alleviation peace dividend
• Economic agenda in shadow in the current
  transition

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Strategies and Approaches to overcome

• Mainstreaming trade into the national
  development agenda
• Allocated matching fund from the GoN for NTIS
  2010
• Intensified dialogues with the stakeholders,
  including our development partners
• Deeper inter-agency consultations at all
  possible levels (GoN agencies, private sector and
  DPs) on the NTIS implementation
• Strengthening national capacity both at
  institutional and HR
• Scrutinizing possibility of an effective aid
  mobilization mechanism on trade (Trust Fund,
  Trade SWAp etc..)
• Increased voice at international level (
  Representing board member in EIF, Geneva)

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EIF/NTIS Implementation Arrangement in Nepal
DPs
NIU
Donor Facilitator
TSCs
NECTRADE

• Technical Committees (TC)
• Agriculture, agro-industry, NTFP, and SPS
• Private Sector Development (Manufacturing, SMEs,
  SEZ/EPZ and TBT)
• Legislation and Intellectual Property Rights
  (IPRs)
• Services and taxation
• Cross-Cutting Issues and Trade-related
  Infrastructure Development
• Technical Sub-Committees (TSC)
• To be constituted by TC as required.

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Illustration of National Arrangements -How it
works ?

• NSC as the APEX BODY for overall guidance
  inter agency coordination
• Focal Point as LEADING the initiatives of MoCS
• NIU at MoCS as NTIS EXECUTING, RESOURCE
  MOBILIZING FACILITATING
• 5 Extended NIUs (TWGs) as FORMULATING
  IMPLEMENTING projects
• Sectoral ministries/agencies As IMPLEMENTING
  PARTNERS
• Business associations as STAKEHOLDERS involved
  in the NSC various implementation activities
• ME mechanism
• Via existing national ME system
• Objective based ME indicators yet to develop

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Recent Updates on NTIS Implementation

• GoN allocated around US 1 million
• Budgetary commitment reflected
• GoNs budget likely to grow in the yrs ahead
• Concept of having a Trade Trust Fund underway
  one Task Force formed
• Reoriented sectoral ministries so as to gain
  complementary attribution
• Government of Germany selected as the New DF
• National implementation mechanism for trade
  mainstreaming operationalized

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Recent Updates on NTIS Implementation

• EIF Tier 1 NECTRADE is in place,
• Capacity issue of MoCS and relevant
  ministries/agencies, including trainings of
  officials and private sector
• Coordination for NTIS implementation
• Develop and support implementation mechanism
• Continuous dialogue with the PRIVATE SECTOR to
  engage them in implementation process
• Developing project proposals in close cooperation
  with the line ministries and private sector for
  Tier 2 funding (EIF and local DPs)

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What do we expect from our DPs?

• 1. What we need?
• TRTAs
• Effective operationalisation of AfT
• Sharing of ideas experiences
• Coordinated delivery of the inputs from DPs
• 2. Why do we need that supports?
• DCs are committed in global forums to provide
  LDCs with AfT TRTAs
• Nepal per se in its big transformation

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What do we expect from our DPs?

• 3. DPs support to meet resource gap, since
• Nepal already mainstreamed trade into its
  national development agenda
• The NTIS is in place and GoN highly committed
  priority-wise and resource-wise to implement it
• But resource-wise Nepal alone is unable to afford
  to implement it
• DPs urged to focus on
• cross-cutting activities (institutional, policy)
• Swathe of activities from any value chain, if
  'VC' to pick up

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We are Enthusiastic to See Our DPs...

• Becoming a part of our national trade agenda
• Joining aggressively the issue of trade by
  'mainstreaming trade' into their country level
  development/cooperation strategies
• Immediately picking-up activities from NTIS (as
  per their areas of expertise and interest) for
  implementation
• Helping GoN to make NTIS 2010 a great success.
• Those who already involved Urged strong
  continued support for implementation
• Those who not yet Urged to include trade in
  their Nepal Assistance Strategy and support NTIS
  implementation

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'Baby steps' 'How a baby grows?'
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Who Says Nepal cant set an example?
Thanks for Your Kind Attention!