Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat stressed the need for foreign investment in Nepal during his keynote address at a symposium on “enhancing bilateral economic cooperation with countries having diplomatic relations with Nepal”, organised in the Indian capital on Friday.

The symposium for New Delhi-based ambassadors and diplomatic missions concurrently accredited to Nepal, which runs on Friday and Saturday, is a joint undertaking of the Foreign Ministry, the Embassy of Nepal in India, the Institute for Strategic and Socio-economic Research and the Pavilion Group Nepal.

Mahat said there is now consensus among the political parties in Nepal for welcoming foreign investments in order to realise the country’s vision of development. “Nepal is an open and liberal economy,” the minister said, assuring investors of safety of their wealth in Nepal.

He listed hydropower, tourism, agro-industry, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors as the areas of investment in Nepal with comparative advantage, informing foreigners about various sector-specific incentives provided to foreign investors in Nepal.

The foreign minister said the improving state of cross-border infrastructure and connectivity between Nepal and India provides further opportunities for expansion of trade and investment.

Minister of State of External Affairs of India Gen VK Singh also addressed the symposium, highlighting Nepal-India relations and substantial engagements between the two countries in trade, investment and tourism. He pledged India’s continued support to Nepal’s development efforts.

At the function, Honorary Consul of Nepal to Scotland  Sunita Poddar handed over a cheque for £45,000, collected following the devastating earthquakes of 2015 in Nepal, to Mahat to be deposited to the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund.

Frequency of high-level exchanges stressed

Visiting Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat met Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Friday where the two leaders emphasised the need to give continuity to high-level exchange of visits between the two countries, according to the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi. 

The ministers also expressed satisfaction at the improvement in ties between the neighbours and recalled the recent state visit of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to India. During the meeting, they noted the progress made in the implementation of bilateral development cooperation projects and agreed on the need to further expedite such projects, including the ones related to the post-earthquake reconstruction.

Mahat thanked the Government of India for extending the logistical support for the upcoming local level elections. Noting the importance of elections in strengthening democracy, Indian Minister Swaraj stated that being the world’s largest democracy, India would be happy to see the important democratic exercise taking place in the neighbourhood.

Minister Mahat spoke about the elections in Nepal and the ongoing efforts of Kathmandu to take all forces on board the constitution implementation process, read a statement from the Indian side.