Nepal is hosting the Nepal Investment Summit, 2019 on March 29-30 and it is determined to prove the country is an appropriate place for investment.
Speaking at a press meet on the eve of the Summit Wednesday at the Ministry of Finance, Finance Minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada expressed his hope that the Summit would prove a golden opportunity to advance towards the goals of economic progress and prosperity set by the government.
Nepal seeks to conclude the Summit as a celebration, proving that Nepal is an appropriate venue for (foreign) investment.
“The Summit is a common mission of Nepalis and combined efforts are necessary to make it a success, utilizing the right opportunity to bring foreign investment home,” the Minister said at the event also attended by Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota; Nepal Investment Board’s chief executive officer Maha Prasad Adhikari and office bearers of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI); Nepal Chamber of Commerce; and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI).
According to him, the event would be successful in addressing the national necessities by establishing cordial relations among the government; domestic and foreign investors and identifying the potentialities of development.
A total of 77 projects also of the private sector will be featured in a ‘showcase’ during the Summit which aims to spread the message that Nepal is immensely suitable place for investment.
The signing of agreements with over a dozen of projects during the Summit is in the schedule. Over 600 investors including high-level delegates from several countries will be attending the Summit.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to inaugurate it to be attended also by government high-ranking officials; delegates of diplomatic missions in Nepal, of development partners and from the private sector. The non-resident Nepali community will also be there in the two-day event.
The Summit will be briefed on projects relating to multiple sectors such as agriculture, hydropower, industry, tourism, transport, urban infrastructure and health and education.
For the Summit, the federal government has already endorsed the ‘public private partnership and investment act’ and ‘foreign investment and technology handover act’, and amended the ‘act relating to the special economic zone’.
Dr Khatiwada said there have been changes in some related acts, regulations and directives in order to make feasible environment for investment.
High-level delegates and investors of 40 countries including U Thaung Tun, Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar, Hartwig Schafer, vice president of the World Bank for the South Asia Region, Shixin Chen, vice president (Operations 1) of the Asian Development Bank, Keiko Honda, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and Hans-Peter Lankes, vice president of the Economies and Private Sector Development at the International Finance Corporation and high level officials of Microsoft Company, Amazon, Power China, China Railway, Babar and Unilever will participate in the Summit.
Dr Khatiwada believes the Summit would serve as a great platform for Nepal to attract investments and an opportunity to inform the world of its government's legal and policy-related efforts so as to provide security and promote world's investors.
The meeting would also help the government's goals of 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali', he believes. Efficient security measures have been adopted for the Summit.
He also directed all security officials and employees at the Tribhuvan International Airport to provide full-fledged security for the guests attending the Summit.
