Kathmandu, October 3: The first-ever German-Nepal Business Forum aims to increase and promote Germany’s investment in Nepal kicked off here on Wednesday (Oct 2). The two-day event jointly organised by the Investment Board, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu and the Nepal German Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( NGCCI) with the theme of ‘ building bridges for business relations’ is being attended by a 15-member business delegation led by Deputy Mayor of City of Cologne, Germany; Hans-Werner, representatives from Germany-funded projects in Nepal and Nepal’s business community.
Speaking at an inaugural session of the conference, Germany’s Ambassador for Nepal Roland Schafer said, “a new Nepal-with a stable government and a population eager to hone its skills- is now of interest for private enterprise from Europe and especially from Germany. This is why this first-ever business forum makes a sense.”
He went on to say that the German Embassy was proud and grateful that the forum had become possible, expressing gratitude to all partners who had joined hands with the event organisers to make it happen. He expressed his hope that the event partners would take ownership of this initiative and turn it into a sustainable tradition over the years.
Stating that there was the abundant potentiality of investment and business in Nepal in the aftermath of political stability and the country finding a way towards economic prosperity, he said,” Partnership could be increased in infrastructure development, cultural exchange and tourism sector.” According to him, private enterprise will add a new dimension to it. Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Baikuntha Aryal said the government had guaranteed amendment to existing related laws and policies, enactment of new laws and other institutional arrangements to attract and promote foreign investment.
“Germany is the third-largest importer of Nepali products,” he said hoping for an arrival of a significant number of tourists from Germany in the context when Nepal was gearing up to celebrate the Nepal Visit Year 2020. Investment Board Chief Executive Officer Maha Prasad Adhikari insisted on the increase of foreign investment to realise the national aspiration for a prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali. As he said, the implementation of 15 projects to be identified by the conference would help bring about economic prosperity in the country. NGCCI president Anup Bahadur Malla underlined the need for enhancing business and investment to ensure the establishment of the smart and green economy.
“Lately, Nepal has built up the investment-friendly atmosphere,” he informed the gathering, calling upon German business community to invest in Nepal. He took time to stress on the production of technical and skilled human resources. Nepal Economic Forum founder Sanjiv Shakya said Nepal had enough potentiality of prosperity due to its geography, population and situation. On the occasion, Deputy Mayor of City of Cologne, Germany; Hans-Werner, said Nepal featured the great potential for the enhancement of German investment, promising to move ahead by cooperating with the local government in Kathmandu.
In his brief conversation with the RSS, the Deputy said Nepal and Germany celebrated the 6oth year of the establishment of bilateral ties and in course of this period, the bilateral relations had reached to people’s level as well. As he said, Germany’s business community were interested in expanding these ties to the economic sector as well.
The Deputy Mayor said he visited the Lalitpur metropolis and Kirtipur municipality and was highly influenced by its art, culture and heritage. As he said, he was interested in establishing sisterly relations with these local governments. During his visit to the Lalitpur metropolis, Mayor Chirikaji Maharjan handed him the metropolis official key.
