Meet on upcoming investment summit held in India

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 13: A 'Pre-Nepal Investment Summit 2024: Industry Outreach Meet' was organised by the Nepali Embassy in India on Thursday. 

On the eve of the third investment conference to be held in Kathmandu on April 28-29, Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) Sushil Bhatta interacted intensively with potential investors, entrepreneurs and businessmen from India.

In the programme, a video message of the Prime Minister of Nepal and the Minister for Finance to potential investors as well as promotional materials related to the investment conference has been presented, according to the press statement of the Office of the Investment Board of Nepal on Friday.

Ambassador of Nepal to India Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma said that India is the main source of foreign direct investment in Nepal and that there are plenty of opportunities for Indian investors to invest in Nepal.

He said that all sectors are open to investment, including hydropower, ICT, tourism, agricultural processing, and manufacturing.

He urged Indian investors to participate in the investment conference and find investment opportunities in Nepal as the investment conference is a platform to inform about the efforts made by the government of Nepal to improve the business environment and develop it as a competitive investment destination and to simplify the process of doing business according to the suggestions of investors and to remove obstacles.

While discussing various projects of Indian investment in Nepal, CEO Bhatta said that effective facilitation is being done by the government of Nepal and the Investment Board.

He said that in public-private partnership projects, the project development agreement defines the responsibilities of the government and the developer as a legal document, while the general content mentioned in it specifies the implementation and operation of the project.

He said that the Indian investment companies are earning good returns in Nepal, while welcoming the proposals for reinvestment, they are encouraging other investors to reinvest as well. 

He said that he was eager to welcome the participation of a large number of entrepreneurs from India in the investment summit.

On the occasion, Ranjit Rae, the former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, appreciated the initiative taken by Nepal to reform investment law as the legal reform will provide investors with predictability and transparency. 

He also suggested that the laws related to intellectual property rights should be made up-to-date. 

While discussing the large investment of Indian investors from small and medium enterprises to the energy sector, former India's Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri emphasised that encouraging the private sector should be the government's priority for Nepal's rapid economic development. 

In the program organised in collaboration with India's PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, former Ambassador of India to Nepal, businessmen and investors of India, high-ranking employees of the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, as well as high-ranking employees and consultants of the IBN were present.