Nepal Investment Summit 2024 succeeded: Finance Minister Pun

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun has announced that the Nepal Investment Summit 2024 was a tremendous success. Speaking at a meeting on the sidelines with representatives from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and ambassadors from various countries who attended the Summit, Minister Pun expressed his enthusiasm about the active participation of development partners.

He attributed the success of the Investment Summit to the significant presence of development partners, investors, and stakeholders, stating that their attendance confirmed Nepal as one of the world’s premier investment destinations.

In the meeting, Pun committed to enhancing cooperation with development partners in the future. “The Investment Summit was successful due to the high level of participation from investors, development partners, and stakeholders,” Minister Pun said, “We have succeeded in establishing that Nepal is an emerging and attractive destination for investment with a wealth of opportunities.”

During the inaugural session of the Summit, he expressed his pleasure that the message of unity in creating a conducive environment for investment was conveyed globally, not just by the government but also by the leaders of the main opposition parties.

Minister Pun thanked the development partners for their presence and commitment at the Summit to support Nepal’s development efforts. He expressed his delight that development partners and investors showed a keen interest in the projects showcased at the Summit.

The Finance Minister mentioned that amendments to nine Acts through an ordinance to create an investment-friendly environment have bolstered investor confidence. He also informed that the process of the country’s Sovereign Credit Rating, which development partners are interested in, has made progress.

Minister Pun urged development investors to communicate to investors that the government is committed to maintaining policy reform and policy stability and to creating an investment-friendly environment by resolving issues encountered during work. He highlighted that Nepal has great potential in energy, tourism, information technology (IT), agribusiness, and infrastructure projects.

With Nepal’s graduation from a least developed country to a middle-income country on the horizon, he informed that the government has prioritised capacity development. He stated that there is a great opportunity for domestic and foreign investment in Nepal because it is located between two large emerging economies, China and India.

Minister Pun said that due to the abundance of natural resources and biological diversity in Nepal, the commercial potential is high. In the future, he promised to work on business environment reform through more policy and legal reform and procedural simplification.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal emphasised social justice, good governance, and prosperity, and said that the upcoming budget will give priority to these issues.