KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said on Monday that the government has answers ready to the question of why foreign investors should invest in Nepal.
Minister Mahat said this after holding a discussion with development partners and stakeholders regarding the third investment summit, at the Ministry of Finance.
The government is preparing to host an international-level investment summit in Kathmandu, on April 21 and 22, 2024.
Finance Minister Mahat asserted, "There is a lot of demand in Nepal, but there is little supply. Therefore, Nepal is an excellent destination for investment. Hydropower, tourism, information technology, and agriculture have high investment potential."
"We are working on what investors think about the investment environment in Nepal and what we need to improve," the finance minister said and opined that investors can invest in small and medium enterprises as well. He claimed that the government was working seriously to eliminate the problems seen in the investment sector.
Minister Mahat said discussions were held with development partners on how to make the investment conference effective and result-oriented. Further, discussions were held on what goals and objectives should be set while taking suggestions given based on the experience of the development partners.
In a discussion with development partners, Minister Mahat said bills related to money laundering prevention will be passed by the Parliament soon. He suggested carrying out 'Country Rating' of Nepal before the investment summit.
Chief Secretary Baikunth Aryal informed that policy and procedural reforms were being made to receive investments as per the commitment made by the investors. According to him, the government has intensified internal preparations to organise the third investment summit.
The meeting of the director and implementation committee formed to organise the summit has already been held. It is said that there was a discussion about the legal and procedural issues that need to be resolved to invest in Nepal in public-private partnerships. A discussion was also held on the preparation of the project to be put on display.
Meanwhile, the government has formed a directorate committee under the coordination of Finance Minister Mahat, an implementation committee under the coordination of Chief Secretary Aryal and a technical committee under the coordination of secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) to organise the international-level investment summit. The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held on November 26 and the first meeting of the Executive Committee was held on November 27. The meeting of the technical committee has not been held yet.
The work of the Board of Directors is to approve the agenda and structure of the summit, to identify areas of policy reform necessary to create an investment environment and to look at the overall aspect of the Summit.
The directorate committee members include the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Minister for Forests and Environment, Minister for Urban Development, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, vice-chairman of National Planning Commission, ministry secretaries, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor, Secretary of the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Finance Secretary, Industry Secretary, presidents of three umbrella organisations of private sector.
The implementation committee is responsible for preparing proposals to be submitted to the board of directors, coordinating with related stakeholders and providing necessary support to the board of directors for the overall preparation of the summit. The implementation committee members include secretaries of relevant ministries, NRB deputy governors and presidents of umbrella organisations of private sector.
The technical committee is responsible for analysing the status of projects to be presented at the summit and developing project concepts to be proposed at the summit. The committee will also prepare memoranda of understanding and agreements to be made at the summit. Technical committee members include joint secretaries of various inline ministries.
