Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...

N T I S2010That being said, Nepal has benefited from some, if limited, support from multilateral and bilateral DPs overthe past few years. These include UNDP Nepal--which provided support to GoN before and following the WTOaccession--the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, a number of agenciesfrom the UN system (ESCAP, FAO, ITC, UNIDO, UNCTAD, WTO, to name a few) in their respective spheres ofcompetence, as well as GTZ, DFID, and Finnish Cooperation.While most of the DPs mentioned above have indicated willingness to support more trade development andmore trade mainstreaming actions, many are waiting for strong signs from the GoN that it genuinely considerstrade as an engine of economic growth and poverty reduction. The much-awaited Nepal Development Forum,as well as the three-year plan scheduled to be released in mid 2010 could prove the right opportunities toprovide such public and political endorsement, especially if the Actions proposed under the NDF and thethree-year plan are aligned with those identified in NTIS 2010.Enhanced Integrated FrameworkThe EIF, hosted in the WTO and financed through a trust fund financed by a significant number of bilateral andmultilateral DPs, is a key mechanism through which LDCs can access AfT.The EIF seeks to assist LDCs in integrating the world economy in a manner that supports their developmentand poverty reduction objectives by: Mainstreaming trade into national development plans, especially the Poverty Reduction StrategyPapers (PRSPs); Promoting a coordinated delivery of TRTA; Strengthening country-level management of AfT and TRTA in a manner consistent with the ParisDeclaration; and, Enhancing supply side capacity for trade.Concretely, LDCs can access funds made available by donors through two windows (Tier 1 and Tier 2) bysubmitting to the EIF project proposals that focus on: Building the institutional and human resource capacity of the EIF NIAs; Providing operational support to NIAs, including some local running costs and equipment; Preparing and updating a Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS); or, Facilitating and supporting trade mainstreaming actions identified in the DTIS.As noted earlier, Nepal has secured support from the Tier 1 window to assist in establishing its NTIS NIAs.12.3 Nepal’s Proposed National Implementation ArrangementsTo help implement the Actions identified in NTIS 2010, the GoN has been organizing a number of NIAs intendedto capture the requirements of the job at hand and the new environment for aid effectiveness, including someof the EIF guidelines. Some of those arrangements are likely to evolve as the GoN internalizes some of thechallenges and requirements arising from NTIS 2010 and as some building blocks begin to take shape.National Steering CommitteeA National Steering Committee (NSC) has been established with the Chief Secretary as chair and the Secretary ofthe MoCS as co-chair. Secretaries from various line ministries, high-level officials from the agencies concernedand representatives from the private sector are also members of the NSC. The main role of the NSC will beto monitor implementation of the NTIS 2010Actions, ensure proper AfT support, ensure their mainstreaming242NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT