Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has said that the government is ready for policy-level reforms to further systematize the inflow of remittance.
In his virtual address to a program entitled ‘Remittance and Investment in Nepal’ organised by the USA-based Overseas Nepali Forum on Saturday night, the finance minister said the government was ready to create an atmosphere conducive for promoting legal channels for remittance inflow and the productive sector.
The finance minister said, “We have not been able to receive a large chunk of remittance through official channels and the government is ready to take measures to promote such channels.” He presented an idea for utilizing remittance in the productive sector and for job creation.
Stating that the government’s attention has been drawn towards the concerns of citizenship issue raised by the non-resident Nepalis, he said, “The Constitutional provision about citizenship for the non-resident Nepali with socio-economic rights will be implemented.”
Stating that he was aware of the Act Related to Foreign Investment and Technology considering the non-resident Nepalis as foreign nationals, he pledged to address this issue. The finance minister said his attention has also been drawn to the issue of NRNs requiring to obtain a visa while coming to Nepal and hoped this issue would be sorted out with the resolution of the citizenship-related issue.
“The NRNs overseas have made a big contribution to Nepal’s economic development and this is going to be more effective in the coming days,” Finance Minister Poudel said and expressed the confidence that each and every NRN and Nepali living and working overseas would play a constructive role as Nepal’s goodwill ambassador for promoting foreign investment besides sending remittance.
Reiterating that Nepal is a safe destination for investment and also a place with good prospects for return, he urged the NRNs to share this message among the investors across the globe.
Participants of the programme underscored that the remittance has played a significant part in the national economy. They suggested giving emphasis on agriculture, tourism, energy, infrastructure, human resources, industrialization, service sector, social security, among the sectors for boosting Nepal’s economy.
