3rd Investment Summit: Information Minister urges investors to take advantage of IT sector

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma has stated that Nepal is a lucrative destination for investing in the information technology (IT) sector.

Addressing a session on Information Technology on Monday in the Nepal Investment Summit 2024, Minister Sharma shared that IT sector is appropriate for both domestic and foreign investors.

She shared that the government was determined to make Nepal an international hub of IT by safeguarding the investors and their investments alike and appealed to all to participate in the mega campaign of digital transformation and prosperity through the investment in IT sector.

Minister Sharma stressed that there is immense potential to run IT-related industries at low cost also due to the availability of skilled human resources and an appropriate environment. “Every year more than 10,000 Nepali youths join the IT sector. At present, almost 100,000 youths are active in IT service exports and there is no scarcity of skilled human resources,” according to Minister Sharma. She viewed that IT industry should be developed as startups to export the IT related services from the country.

The Minister informed that the National Cyber Security Policy, 2080 was unveiled and National Cyber Security Centre was established for the first time in the country aiming at security and management of Cyber Space.

In order to end the dual investment in the infrastructure of telecommunications, she argued that a review and effective implementation of the infrastructure sharing policy was needed.
On the occasion, Minister Sharma pledged to draft some laws and bring some policy measures in the areas of IT sector, telecommunications and related fields.

She also shared that the government was preparing to take benefit from the development and expansions of AI, cloud computing, IOT, block chain and other latest technological transformation taking place in the world. “Now, we should embrace the policy to link IT as a basis for economic development,” Minister Sharma shared.

In the Nepal Investment Summit, eight major projects were showcased including Data Centre, IT and Techno Park, Computer Hardware Assembling Plant, ICT Training Centre, Digital Services Centre, Smartphone Manufacturing and Assembling Plant, Incubation Centre and Film City.

Minister Sharma also said that the government was ready to forge cooperation for the development of other projects besides those showcased in the Investment Summit to assist the digital transformation in the country.

Sharma was of the view that the model for investment could be explored from the best practices in other countries by prioritizing the public private partnership (PPP) model applied by Nepal.