KATHMANDU: India-Nepal Center organized India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023 in association with Nepal SBI Bank Ltd, Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Startup Network in Birgunj.

The Summit was aimed at creating a uniquely important platform for discussing a forward-looking bilateral economic partnership agenda, the organizers said.

According to a statement issued by the organizers, the deliberations supported by the decision-makers were aimed at opening new avenues of business engagements and investments in the key sectors of the economy.

It was also aimed at giving a much-needed boost to the trade near the crucial India-Nepal border at Birgunj, an economic hub of Nepal.

The statement said that it was also aimed at creating a platform through joint action for deeper economic engagement between India and Nepal (with a focus on remittance, imports, exports and Balance of Payment (BoP) challenges in Nepal).

Likewise, the Summit was also organized to ensure the channelization of investment from India to Nepal and other ways round.

Other takeaways of the Summit were to re-establish the India-Nepal bilateral relations as the core strength of the sub-regional cooperation in South Asia besides creating a sustained convergence of industry and government, for thriving on the mutually beneficial India-Nepal bilateral relations in all crucial realms.

It was also aimed at bringing to notice the hidden potential in the Border Area Development Program (with a focus on connectivity) and paving the way for India’s major involvement in helping the infrastructural facelift of Nepal’s bordering districts in Bihar and making them the gateways of India-Nepal Trade Connection.

The Summit also discussed making Cluster-based Economic Zones across Nepal, and further relaxation of the cross-border trade norms to secure and sustain greater economic engagements.

While setting the tone of the Summit, the Session Chair Atul K Thakur, Nodal Coordinator, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI reflected on the necessity for having a collaborative approach among the stakeholders’ in the government and industry to tap the potential and also cope the challenges in post-pandemic times.

Shreejana Rana, President of NICCI profiled the fundamental changes that Nepal’s economy is witnessing and she stressed on the need to further simplify the procedures of doing business between two countries which have a long shared past of working closely.

Speaking in the Summit at Birgunj, the Chief Guest Ramesh Rijal, Minister of Industry, Commerce & Supplies, Government of Nepal assured for required policy interventions to improve the economic indicators.

Sushil Bhatta, CEO of Investment Board Nepal gave an outline of the recent investments from the major Indian entities like NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) and Dabur—and welcomed the Indian investments citing the advantages Nepal has a friendly destination and with progressive investment policies for projects.

Representing the Consulate General of India, Satish Pattapu, Consul (Economic Cooperation & Commerce), Consulate General of India, Birgunj, Nepal shared an overview of the main constituents of economic cooperation and challenges at the policy level that need to be tackled.

To further making the border trade movement smoother and more efficient, Shailendra Kumar, Consul (PCS) apprised about the steps being undertaken.

Dipak Kumar De, MD & CEO, Nepal SBI Bank Ltd and Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO & CFO, Nepal SBI Bank Ltd gave a detailed account of NSBL’s initiatives for fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Nepal and help in easing the slowdown in the economy. NSBL’s MD & CEO assured the industry captains and startups for offering the best in class banking services for Nepal’s successful transition from a recessionary to a booming economy with focus on project finance and landing for removing liquidity crunch.

NSBL, with a majority stake of State Bank of India (SBI), has been working for almost three decades in Nepal in the private sector, it has had created a niche for itself as a technology and innovation-driven bank with a resolve to support Nepal’s businesses and people.