Home
B360 National

PHDCCI concludes ‘India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023’

A A- A+

KATHMANDU: PHDCCI India-Nepal Centre organised India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023 in Birgunj, Parsa district, on Thursday. The summit was held in association with the Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL), Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Startup Network (TSN) with the objective to create a uniquely important platform for discussing a forward-looking bilateral economic partnership agenda. The deliberations supported by the decision-makers aimed for opening new avenues of business engagements and investments in the key sectors of the economy besides giving a much-needed boost to the trade near the crucial India-Nepal border at Birgunj, an economic hub of Nepal. Key takeaways of the Summit:

To create a platform through joint action for deeper economic engagement between India and Nepal (with focus on remittance, imports, exports and Balance of Payment (BoP) challenges in Nepal).
To channelise investment from India to Nepal and other ways round.
To re-establish the India-Nepal bilateral relations as the core strength of the sub-regional cooperation in South Asia.
To create a sustained convergence of industry and government, for thriving on the mutually beneficial India-Nepal bilateral relations in all crucial realms.
To bring-in to notice the hidden potential in the Border Area Development Program (with a focus on connectivity) and paving the way for India’s major involvement in helping the infrastructural facelift of Nepal’s bordering districts in Bihar and making them the gateways of India-Nepal Trade Connection.
To discuss and ideate for making Cluster-based Economic Zones across Nepal.
To further relax the cross-border trade norms to secure and sustain greater economic engagements.

While setting the tone of the summit, the Session Chair Atul K Thakur, Nodal Coordinator, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI reflected on the necessity for having a collaborative approach among the stakeholders in the government and industry to tap the potential and also cope with the challenges in post-pandemic times. [gallery columns="1" link="file" size="full" ids="36924"] Shreejana Rana, President, NICCI, profiled the fundamental changes that Nepal’s economy is witnessing and she stressed the need to further simplify the procedures of doing business between two countries which have a long shared past of working closely. Speaking at the summit, chief guest Ramesh Rijal, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, assured of required policy interventions to improve the economic indicators. Sushil Bhatta, CEO, Investment Board Nepal, gave an outline of the recent investments from the major Indian entities like NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) and Dabur, and welcomed the Indian investments citing the advantages Nepal has as a friendly destination and with progressive investment policies for projects. Representing the Consulate General of India, Satish Pattapu, Consul (Economic Cooperation & Commerce), Consulate General of India, Birgunj, Nepal shared an overview of the main constituents of economic cooperation and challenges at the policy level that need to be tackled. For making the border trade movement smoother and more efficient, Shailendra Kumar, Consul (PCS), apprised the summit of the steps being undertaken. Dipak Kumar De, MD & CEO, Nepal SBI Bank, and Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO & CFO, Nepal SBI Bank, gave a detailed account of NSBL’s initiatives for fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Nepal and help in easing the slowdown in the economy. NSBL’s MD and CEO assured the industry captains and startups of offering the best in class banking services for Nepal’s successful transition from a recessionary to a booming economy with a focus on project finance and landing for removing liquidity crunch. NSBL, with a majority stake of State Bank of India (SBI), has been working for almost three decades in Nepal in the private sector, it has created a niche for itself as a technology and innovation-driven bank with a resolve to support Nepal’s businesses and people. [gallery link="file" size="full" columns="2" ids="36927,36926"] Other participants were Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya, Member of Parliament, Nepali Congress; Anil Kumar Agrawal, President, Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Anukool Bhatnagar, Managing Partner, Comprehensive Financial Assets and Advisory Services LLP, and former MD and CEO, Nepal SBI Bank; Deepak Rauniar, Founder CEO, Oorja World; Sunil KC, Vice President, NICCI; Kunal Kayal, Chairperson (Industry & Export Promotion Committee), NICCI; Abhishek Choudhary, President, NICCI Birgunj Chapter; Ashok Temani, President (Madhesh Pradesh), FNCCI; Vijay Kant Karna, Executive Chairperson, Centre for Social Inclusion and Federalism; Mahesh Kumar Agrawal, Bihar State Coordinator, Seema Jagran Manch; Ashok Kumar Baidya, Chairman, Nepal-Bharat Sahyog Manch; and Chandra Kishore, a senior journalist. Well-timed and meant to foster border trade with emphasis on bilateral and subregional economic cooperation, 'India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023' concluded by providing business linkages and partnerships. READ ALSO:

Published Date: May 23, 2023, 12:00 am

Post Comment