NCC holds interaction with IMF delegation

KATHMANDU: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has held interaction with a delegation led by Robert Gregory, Chief of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP). On the occasion, NCC President Rajendra Malla said the development partners should give priority to energy, tourism and agriculture to reduce Nepal's growing trade deficit in foreign trade. He said so citing that the liquidity crisis in the country has weakened the economy while the investment environment has been weakened due to a rise in interest rates. Malla emphasized the need for establishing a food bank to prioritise agriculture. He sought the support from IMF to maintain single-digit interest rates for economic growth, as well as, support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The NCC president thanked the IMF for its assistance during the Covid crisis. Similarly, the IMF division chief expressed his satisfaction that Nepal's foreign currency reserve stood to cover six months' time. He praised the efforts made to control Covid 19 in Nepal and inquired about the overall economic situation of the country and the impact of Russia-Ukraine war on the business sector. NCC's executive committee members including Senior Vice President Kamalesh Kumar Agrawal, vice presidents — Deepak Malhotra, Deepak Shrestha and Surendra Kumar were also present in the meeting. READ ALSO:

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