Finance Minister calls for making Third Investment Summit a grand success

Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has called for efforts from all sides to make the Third Investment Summit a grand success. The government is hosting the Summit on April 28 and 29.

Addressing a meeting of the Third Investment Summit, 2024 Steering Committee at the Ministry of Finance today, he said that foreign investors are showing interest in investing in Nepal and directed the bodies concerned to prepare the investment projects with utmost seriousness.

“The Summit is an opportunity for us to attract investment. The government is always prepared for legal and policy level reforms to attract foreign and Nepali investors as well as the non-resident Nepalis, to invest in Nepal,” he said, adding that the main goal of the Summit is to disseminate to the wider world the message that Nepal is the best destination for investment. This message, he said, would be best served by making simplified provisions for investment facilitation, project implementation and operation, and for repatriation of profit.

The Finance Minister, who is also the Coordinator of the Steering Committee, said, “The World Bank is ready to organize the conference of its IEG in Nepal in coming June. “The formal letter related to this is expected to arrive in some days. The biggest-ever international conference will be held in Nepal. Representatives of more than 92 countries, including the World Bank President, will attend the conference.”

Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Mukunda Prasad Niraula, said so far 105 projects related to different sectors have been classified, aiming the investment summit. He added that pledges for additional investment plans have been coming from the private sector as well.

Finance Ministry’s chief economic advisor Dr Koshraj Pandey underlined the need to enable an atmosphere for an entry of foreign investment in a smooth way, keeping the investment secured to make the event meaningful.

Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Chandra Prasad Dhakal advised the government to come up with flexible policies to build an investment-friendly atmosphere.

Coordinator of Policy, Law and Structural Improvement Taskforce and secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Ek Narayan Aryal, Investment Summit Technical Committee coordinator and secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies; Mukunda Niraula and Investment Summit Secretariat coordinator and Investment Board Nepal’s executive officer, Sushil Bhatta, gave their presentations in the meeting.

Various Ministers, Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and National Planning Commission Vice Chair Min Bahadur Shrestha were also present in the meeting.