The 2nd meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on tourism cooperation between Nepal and India was held in Kathmandu on Friday, 6th July 2018.
The meeting of the group formed to promote the cooperation on tourism between the two countries after the Nepal visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 is scheduled to discuss on issues related to leave travel concession, overland travel and formation of Indo-Nepal Tourism Forum, among others.
The 11-member Indian delegation is led by the Ministry of Tourism’s Joint Secretary Suman Billa while Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) is leading the Nepali side.
The working group was first mooted during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi to Nepal in 2014 through a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism between the two countries. It aims to foster cooperation in the field of tourism as part of making joint efforts to tap the full potential of opportunities available in the sector.
The Nepali team includes representatives from the MOCTCA, CAAN, Immigration Department, FNCCI, NICCI, NATTA, HAN, TAAN, among other institutions. President CN Pandey is participating in the meeting to deliberate valuable inputs in progress of JWG Meeting.
Apart from officials of the Ministry of Tourism, the Indian delegation includes representatives from Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Indian Association of Tour Operators and Indian Tourist Transport Association, among others.
A preparatory meeting was held on 3rd July to share their expectations and preliminary inputs on the elements to be addressed in JWG meeting, Secy. General Mr. Ramesh Thapa participated in the meeting.