Pithorgarh administration said on Thursday that Indian traders can soon start trade with China through Lipu-Lekh pass.
The Lipu-Lekh pass is situated at an altitude of 17,500 feet in Pithorgarh district at border with Tibet.
Naveen Chandra Sharma, the district magistrate of Pithorgarh, told reporters that the ministry of external affairs has conveyed to the administration that trade passes could now be issued to traders who would want to visit Tibet.
The Indo-China border trade through Lipu-Lekh is estimated to be worth Rs 5-7 crore (Rs 50-70 million).
The administration would be issuing 350 trade passes that it received from the MEA to the traders.
The administration has appointed trade officers to conduct the annual trade. A State Bank of India makeshift branch at Gunji was being opened to facilitate traders.
A variety of items like cloths, wool, tobacco, steel utensils, jaggery are expected to be traded between the two countries.
