Two-way trade from one of the key border transit routes between Nepal and China resumed formally on Wednesday after being closed for almost three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.

The reopening of the border transit route comes days after Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", who is known to be close to China, took the oath of office as the new Prime Minister.

A ceremony marking the official resumption of trade from the Kerung-Rasuwagadhi border port was held on Wednesday, a statement issued by the Nepalese Foreign Ministry here said.

"The Rasuwa/Kerung port between Nepal and the People's Republic of China has officially resumed its operation for two-way trade from Wednesday," the statement said.

The export of goods to China had however resumed from Tuesday, The Kathmandu Post newspaper said, quoting Lhasa-based Consulate General Nawaraj Dhakal.

The port came into formal operation in 1961. The Chinese Embassy in Nepal released pictures of the ceremony and said in a statement that China looks forward to importing more goods from Nepal.

The statement said that six cargo trucks full of Nepali goods passed through the port into China.

The ceremony was attended by delegates of the Department of Commerce of Xizang Autonomous Region, the Lhasa Customs, the General Station of Immigration Inspection of Xizang Autonomous Region, the Health Commission of Xizang Autonomous Region, and other relevant departments, the report said.

According to Head of Rasuwa Customs, Narayan Prasad Bhandari, goods worth Rs 5 million were exported on Tuesday, the report said.

In 2021, when the pandemic was at its peak in Nepal, Xizang Autonomous Region provided a large number of medical supplies to the Himalayan country through the port.

Although the port had been closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a one-way freight clearance at the Kerung port was reopened in April 2020 at Nepal’s request, the report said.

An estimated 150 businesses were exporting their products through the Kerung-Rasuwagadhi port.

Nepal imports ready-made clothes, footwear, apples, motor batteries, plastic products, and more from China through the port. It exports pashmina, carpets, noodles, wheat, vanaspati ghee, chocolates, and more to China.

The Hilsa-Purang port has also been opened for one-way trade starting December 26.

"The resumption of the ports is expected to augment bilateral trade between Nepal and China," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

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(Edited by : Anushka Sharma)