BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce to be formed with FNCCI as founding member

KATHMANDU: A meeting of the BIMSTEC Business Summit on Wednesday decided to form BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce. This decision was made at a meeting attended by presidents and representatives of regional chambers of commerce, along with the Secretary General of BIMSTEC, Indra Mani Pandey.

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) will be a founding member representing Nepal. FNCCI President Chandra Prasad Dhakal expressed his happiness that the chamber is about to be formed as per his proposal made last year. During the meeting, Dhakal called for the immediate formation and implementation of the chamber's constitution.

The proposal to establish the BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce was initially put forward at the BIMSTEC Trade Summit held in New Delhi, India. According to the proposal, one chamber from each member nation will be included in the BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is expected to accelerate the formation and implementation of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

During the meeting, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) proposed establishing the secretariat of the BIMSTEC Chamber at its office in New Delhi. The presidency of the chamber will be held on a rotational basis.

Along with FNCCI President Dhakal, Past President Bhawani Rana and Senior Vice President Anjan Shrestha were also present at the meeting.