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National Innovation Center Chairman Mahabir Pun and the government signed a seven-point agreement on Monday. Chairman Pun and Minister for Defense and Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Purna Bahadur Khadka on behalf of the government signed the agreement this afternoon. Following the agreement, the sit-in among protest programs led by Pun has come to an end. According to the agreement, the government will establish a fund and invest in carrying out research and development and innovation and invention related activities. Similarly, the government will table a bill in the upcoming session of the Parliament and endorse it to manage and operate the fund and to prepare the draft of the bill within 60 days in consultation with stakeholders. Likewise, it has been mentioned in the agreement that one percent of the capital budget will be deposited in the fund from the next financial year and formulate necessary policies and laws to promote research and development and innovation and invention related activities.

Mohan Baidhya-led CPN (Revolutionary Maoist) and Dharmendra Bastola-led CPN (Bahumat) have unified on Monday. The name of the new party announced amidst a formal program in the Capital this afternoon will be ‘Revolutionary Communist Party Nepal’. Newly formed Revolutionary Communist Party Nepal Chairman Baidhya, party spokesperson Bastola, officer members and party advisors among others were present in the program.  

The government continues efforts for safety and rescue of Nepalis in Sudan amidst a challenging security situation. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government is in regular contact with the Nepali citizens in the country in northeast Africa and the Nepali Embassy in Cairo of Egypt continues to update about their situation and rescue as well. So far 30 Nepali citizens except those security personnel deputed for the UN peacekeeping missions there have come into contact with the Embassy. As per the request of the Embassy, the Saudi Arabia government cooperated to safely bring 19 Nepalis from the Port Sudan to Jeddah of Saudi Arabia, according to the Nepali Consulate in Jeddah. Prior to this, a Nepali safely reached Jeddah and preparations are on to send them back to home. Five, out of the remaining 11 Nepali citizens who are in contact with the Nepali Embassy in Cairo, have already left for Port Sudan. Efforts are on to transport one from Khartoum to Port Sudan and three have reached Port Sudan with the help of their employer company and are staying in a hotel on their own. Similarly, arrangements are in place to escort two from Khartoum to safety near the Egyptian border by their employer company. The government has thanked all for facilitating and cooperating it to undertake rescue for Nepali in Sudan that has been plunged into internal conflict for weeks. It is reported that the security situation is still not eased there and the government has urged the Nepali population there to stay safe and indoor except in emergency. The government has in emergency requested to call Deepak Ghimire (second secretary, Embassy) at Mobile/WhatsApp +201097772348, +201029606662 or email at [email protected].  

The Rastriya Swatantra Party elected President Rabi Lamichhane as its Parliamentary Party leader. A Central Committee meeting of the RSP held on Monday decided to elect Lamichhane as the leader of the Parliamentary Party, party spokesperson Mukul Dhakal said. The Parliamentary Party will endorse the decision. Lamichhane had resigned from the leader of the Parliamentary Party after he lost the post of lawmaker over the citizenship issue. Later, Dol Prasad Aryal was made the Parliamentary Party leader. Aryal has submitted the resignation to Deputy Parliamentary Party leader Biraj Bhakta Shrestha after Lamichhane was re-elected as the lawmaker from Chitwan-2.

A month after the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point was reopened for two-way trade between Nepal and China, the Tatopani-Khasa border is also set to resume two-way trade from Monday. Tatopani Customs Office said that it is ready for two-way trade through the border point. “We are preparing to send goods from Nepal to China. A truck of handicrafts is ready for export through this border point for the first time in the last three years,” said an official at the customs office. Officials however don’t have big expectations from the two-way trade through his border point immediately because cross-border movement of people will not be allowed through his border point. “China will not allow Nepali trucks to the Chinese side,” the official said. “Both sides will unload each other's goods to the border point and take transport away to their respective areas avoiding direct contact between people of two countries.” Even though China has allowed drivers and Nepalis in the bordering areas to go up to Kerung through the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point, cross-border movement of humans will not be allowed through the Tatopani border point. “The Chinese side has said that the issue of cross-border movement of humans will be decided later,” the customs official said. Given the restrictive conditions set by China for the resumption of the two-way traffic of goods, Nepali officials say it will not boost Nepal's export any time soon. Nepali importers have been importing mainly agricultural products such as apples, and garlic among others through this border point. According to the Department of Customs (DoC), Nepal imported goods worth Rs 8.62 billion through the Tatopani border point in the first nine months of the current fiscal year while no exports took place over the period. Meanwhile, goods worth Rs 19.51 billion were imported via the Rasuwagadhi border while exports worth Rs 215 million were exported along the border point. A significant number of handicraft products, particularly bamboo chairs, had been exported through the Rasuwagadhi border point, according to customs officials. During the first meeting of the Nepal-China Coordination Mechanism on Border Trade and Cooperation held in Lhasa in March, two sides reached an agreement to reopen the borders for two-way trade. These border points have not been fully operational since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Initially, Nepal chose to close the border after the coronavirus outbreak in China, but the border points could not be fully operational due to the strict zero-Covid policy adopted by the northern neighbor. China on Dec 28 last year opened the Rasuwagadhi border point even for exports of Nepali goods though it was already reopened for one-way import of goods from China only. Tatopani-Khasa border point has remained closed for a long time, though it was occasionally reopened since the pandemic hit the world. Even after reopening the Rasuwagadhi border points for two-way traffic of goods, China has been imposing a quota system for the export and import of goods which has prevented the full realization of export and import through this border point. Currently, most of the trade with China takes place through the sea route via India. DoC statistics show Nepal’s imports from China stood at Rs 162.44 billion against the export of Rs 636.83 million as of the nine months of the current fiscal year. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, Nepali exporters have been forced to use expensive air routes to export certain goods to China. The customs official said that Nepal’s export growth would also depend on whether Chinese authorities would continue to impose non-tariff barriers. “For example, the Chinese side has not yet allowed Nepal to export food items through Rasuwagadhi border points even though other types of goods have been allowed to export,” said an official at Rasuwagadhi Customs Office.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party has said that it will take a decision on joining the government only on Friday. During a Central Committee meeting of the party held on Monday, the leaders discussed taking a decision on joining the government only on Friday, RSP spokesperson Mukul Dhakal said. He said that the final decision on the issue will be taken after holding a meeting on Friday.    

Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala stressed that there should be representation of workers at the policy making level. In a message on the occasion of International Labour Day, the Congress leaders said that there should be the representation of workers at the policy making level to take ahead the rights of workers. “The representation of workers is necessary at the policy making level of the state to establish the rights of workers,” he said. Leader Koirala demanded that the government form a Labour Commission to resolve the problems of workers.    

The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has formed an evaluation committee for the issuance of licenses for a new stock exchange and commodities exchanges. The five-member committee is headed by Phanindra Gautam, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs and has Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Finance, Mukunda Kumar Chhetri, Executive Director at Nepal Rastra Bank, Muktinath Shrestha, Executive Director at Sebon, and Ambika Giri, Deputy Executive Director at Sebon as members. The Gautam-led committee will study the applications submitted by the companies for new stock exchange and commodities exchanges and recommend the names to the board. Sebon plans to complete the process of license issuance for a new stock exchange and commodities exchanges within a month. The board has received applications from three companies for a new stock exchange and four companies for two commodities exchanges. The top corporate groups of the country are in a race to get the license to operate a new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange, and Annapurna Stock Exchange have applied for the license to start a new stock exchange. Making a second amendment to the Securities Market Operation Regulation, 2064 BS in the second week of September 2022, Sebon initiated the process to establish the second stock exchange in the country. On September 18, 2022, Sebon invited applications for a new stock exchange, commodity exchanges, and stock brokerage firms. However, the process stalled for five months after advocate Deepak Bikram Mishra went to the Supreme Court demanding to stop the licensing process. The licensing process was stalled after the apex court dismissed Mishra's writ petition on October 21, 2022. Following the court's verdict, the Sebon on April 13 again invited applications from interested parties for new stock exchange and commodities exchanges. According to Sebon, the new stock exchange should have a paid-up capital of Rs 3 billion, of which 70 percent will be institutional investments.