Kathmandu, Dec 29: The 9th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Agriculture Working Group on promoting bilateral cooperation in agriculture sector concluded here today.
The two-day meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Ministry’s Joint-Secretary Dr Hari Bahadur KC and Additional Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of the Indian government Dr Pramod Kumar Meherda had co-chaired the meeting.
This is the first meeting under the ‘New Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture Cooperation’ signed between the two countries on 9 April 2025.
During the meeting, representatives of both the countries had delivered presentations about their countries’ agriculture policy, priorities and current challenges.
Presenting the fact that bilateral agricultural trade between Nepal and India exceeded 1.6 billion US dollars in 2024-25, both sides expressed their commitment to further balance and strengthen trade relations, informed Dr. Januka Pandit, joint secretary and spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Indian side, in line with the ‘Neighbour First’ policy, expressed a desire to assist Nepal in agricultural research, technology transfer, and infrastructure development.
In the context of trade facilitation, Nepal expressed gratitude that India has recognized laboratory testing of eight types of its agricultural products and requested the expansion of the list and ensured access to the Indian market.
Dr. Pandit informed that the meeting held in-depth discussions on cooperation in modern technical fields such as digital agriculture, climate-resilient farming, natural farming systems, and food security. Both countries have decided to prepare and implement a biennial action plan within the next three months.
In addition, an agreement was made to collaborate on addressing issues related to the supply of chemical fertilizers, agricultural infrastructure development, food quality, and quarantine technical problems. It was decided to hold the upcoming meeting of the Group in India. #nepal #rss
