Investment-friendly environment will be created through law amendments: Minister Gautam

CHITWAN: The government will amend laws to create an investment‑friendly environment, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam said on Monday.

Speaking at the 35th annual general meeting of the Chitwan Association of Industries (CAI) in Chitwan, Minister Gautam said administrative hassles arise from vague legal frameworks and that timely legal changes are needed to remove those obstacles. “Administrative hassles arise when the laws are unclear. Now we are working to solve the existing problems by making the laws clear,” she said.

She said the government is preparing measures to encourage investment and that an extensive workshop has already been organised to consider which reforms are required in investment‑related legislation.

Minister Gautam called for collaboration among policymakers, the bureaucracy, the private sector and political actors to draft laws that support investment, and warned that law‑making is not instantaneous. “The problems you have faced so far have been lingering for years. To see improvements, the laws needed to be amended. We have finally reached the stage of amendments,” she said, adding that even on a fast‑track the process can take six to eight months.

At the event, Bagmati Province’s Minister for Industry, Tourism, Labour and Transport Rajendra Prajapati said the provincial government is committed to resolving the difficulties faced by industrialists and entrepreneurs.

Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) President Sobha Gurung urged the government to assist industries affected by the Bhotekoshi floods. CAI President Madan Ghimire also addressed the AGM.