In focus
Participation in a panel discussion on Nepal’s WTO experience
Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, SAWTEE, spoke on Nepal’s 20-year experience as a WTO member in a panel discussion in a seminar on “20 Years of Nepal’s Accession to the WTO. What have we achieved?" organized by WTO Chairs Programme, Kathmandu University School of Management, in partnership with the World Trade Organization, on 19 May 2024. Dr. Toya Narayan Gyawali, Member Secretary, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal, chaired the session.
Insights into Informal Cross-Border Trade in Agri-Food Commodities in South Asia
South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organized a workshop titled “Insights into Informal Cross-Border Trade in Agri-Food Commodities in South Asia” on 16 May 2024 in Kathmandu. The objective of the workshop was to disseminate the findings of the study done by SAWTEE and IFPRI that examined the dynamics of informal trade in agri-food commodities. The workshop centered on the dynamics of informal trade in agri-food commodities between Nepal and India and India and Bangladesh, shedding light on the nuances of trade patterns, modes, and underlying drivers. View More
SAWTEE is hiring!
SAWTEE is looking for a Nepali citizen for the position of IT Associate.
Visit the link for further details on job requirements & how to apply:
- IT Associate: https://www.jobsnepal.com/it-associate-133077
Roundtable discussion on tapping Nepal’s export potential
On 16 April 2024, SAWTEE organized a roundtable discussion on "Tapping Nepal’s export potential: Firm-level perspectives" in Kathmandu. Considering the urgency to examine ways to create an enabling environment to propel exports, SAWTEE is undertaking a study of the export sector, which also entails a survey of firms to understand the constraints to exporting and the factors that enable exporting. The study is to inform the Asian Development Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (2025-2029), which seeks to foster export growth and support the development of a new growth model based on competitive businesses producing and exporting a range of goods and services. The main objectives of the roundtable were to get inputs on the study design and to discuss the prospects and challenges faced by firms in breaking into export markets, continuing to export and expanding exports. The participants included representatives from the private sector, covering agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, IT and logistics sectors; trade experts; and ADB representatives.
SAWTEE’s participation at a symposium
SAWTEE’s Programme Coordinator, Ms. Dikshya Singh, discussed the barriers faced by women-led businesses in international trade due to gender blind policies in a symposium titled "Breaking Barriers: Nepali Women Entrepreneurs Accessing International Markets" organized by the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal and VRock and Company on 31 March 2024. The symposium was organized on the sidelines of the 7th International Women’s Trade Expo and Symposium 2024, which takes place from 29 March to 2 April in Kathmandu.
Presentation at the Second LDC Future Forum
Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, SAWTEE, presented on "Nepal’s prematurely premature de-industrialization and its search for an industrial policy" in a session at the Second LDC Future Forum in Helsinki on 6 March 2024. The organizers included the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UN-WIDER), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Participants included government officials, researchers and private sector actors from various least developed countries and development partners.
Inputs on Nepal-Bangladesh trade to policymakers
At the invitation of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS), Government of Nepal, Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, SAWTEE, on 6 February 2024 gave a research-based talk on “Nepal-Bangladesh trade: opportunities and challenges” in the presence of the commerce secretary, the industry secretary, and joint secretaries, under-secretaries and officers of the ministry.
Lecture in a training programme for policymakers
Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, SAWTEE, delivered a lecture on the Nepali economy and international trade issues to officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), Government of Nepal, in Lalitpur on 30 January 2024 as part of a training programme organized by Agriculture Information and Training Centre, MoALD.
Presentation on ginger trade
Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, SAWTEE, presented on Nepal’s ginger trade at "International Workshop on Development and Promotion of Ginger Trade in Asia" held in Kathmandu on 26 January 2024. It was jointly organized by the Center for Agricultural Infrastructure Development and Mechanization Promotion (CAIDMP) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) and Nepal Agricultural Economics Society (NAES). The audience included MoALD officials, agriculture economists, and private sector representatives, including exporters.
Workshop for journalists in Karnali Province
On January 22, 2024, SAWTEE, in collaboration with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ-Surkhet), conducted a media workshop for economic journalists in Surkhet, Karnali Province. The main objective of the programme was to enhance the capacity of media professionals in reporting on topics such as balance of payments, Nepal-India trade, and Nepal-Bangladesh trade.
![South Asia and LDCs](/images/COVID-19-South-Asia-and-LDCs.webp)
Featured events
Discussion programme on public debt
2023-09-01
![Discussion programme on public debt](page_gallery/thumb/41img_1059.jpg)
Discussion programme on regional trade
2023-09-01
![Discussion programme on regional trade](page_gallery/thumb/38img_1050.jpg)
SAWTEE in Media
- SAWTEE, IFPRI workshop explores informal cross-border agri-food trade
- भन्सार चुहावट नियन्त्रण भए स्थानीय उत्पादन प्रोत्साहन हुन्छ
- Informal cross-border trade balloons: Report
- Why Invest in Nepal?
- Nepal awaits revival of key US trade preference scheme
- नेपाल–भारत व्यापार घाटा कम गर्न उत्पादन तथा उत्पादकत्वमा जोड
- नेपाल–भारत व्यापार घाटा कम गर्न उत्पादन तथा उत्पादकत्वमा जोड