Kathmandu, Jan 20: The Prime Minister, in an interaction at the PM’s residence today, said the government is prepared to bring about policy reforms to solve the problems faced in the field of industry and commerce.
“This government is determined to deal with your problems and takes them seriously,” he said adding the government is planning to bring in a new policy for commerce.
Mentioning that there are quite a number of new joint venture companies coming in, he stressed that we must bring in foreign investment and expertise in the country.
“There are plenty of policies and the problems have been identified. What lacks in our country is dynamism in the implementation part,” he said.
“We must not be satisfied with small achievements as success can be met only if we think we are not perfect yet,” he said.
“This interaction is the first step in our belief that the government must also invite suggestions and inputs from sectors other than the bureaucrats alone,” said Minister for Industry, Omkar Prasad Shrestha.
Emphasising that everyone must work together to fulfil the commitment of the PM to bring tangible changes in the nation within four years, Minister Shrestha said, “the Government will now move ahead in earnest.”
Minster for Commerce Ramkrishna Tamrakar stressed that Private sector being the most important sector, should play a major role in nation building.”
“We have sent the draft of the new Commerce policy to the FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce and other related private non-governmental organisations for suggestions and comments,” he said. The government has taken various steps to support the private sector, Tamrakar said.
He also informed that a conference of Multinational companies is soon going to be held and a Trade Promotion Fair is also to be held in March.
Minister Tamrakar urged the businessmen that the facilities provided for in the Nepal-India Transit Treaty should be made use of to the fullest and if there are problems, solutions can be sought during his upcoming India visit.
“Private sector has the most important role in the process of globalisation, and Nepali Congress has been committed to economic liberalisation, free market policy and privatisation which are important ingredients of the process,” said chief advisor of the Prime Minister, Narayan Khadka.
President of FNCCI Pradip Shrestha said, “although it will take some time for the commerce and industry sector to come out of the slack period, the new majority government has lent great support to the process and the private sector is ready to make its share of contribution to the government.”
He said the government’s policy and programmes should be development oriented and not revenue oriented. There should be a different policy aiming at attracting foreign investment.
There should be consensus among political parties on issues concerning the development of water resources, agriculture and information technology, Shrestha said.
During the Prime Minister’s visit to India, he added, special attempts should be made to promote joint investment between Nepal and India.
President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Mahesh Kumar Agrawal said Nepal had experienced more problems in the areas of revenues and value added tax system than in the industrial sector.
Agrawal said the policies lacked continuity in course of implementation. He said foreign investors have criticised lack of transparency and the accounting system. “There should be a separate mechanism to correct it.”
President of Small Scale and Cottage Industries’ Association Basudev Giri said the government should fix priority sector for investments. The government should come up with a clear cut policy to develop and protect pashmina industries, which have started only lately.
Former President of FNCCI Padma Jyoti said there should be proper policy to ensure safe exit to the industrialist in case the industry needs to be closed down.
Tourism entrepreneur Ambika Shrestha said the government should launch a special program to further develop tourism sector, the back bone of industrial development. “Immediate steps should be taken to solve the problems from the Indian government’s decision not to allow Nepal’s private airlines to operate additional flights in India.”
President of Hotel Association of Nepal Gautam Das Shrestha said the government had treated hotels as industries, but Nepal Electricity Authority did not recognise hotels as industries. The Authority has stripped hotels of the facilities other industries are entitled, he said.
President of Employers’ Council of FNCCI Rajendra Khetan said a lot had been done to tackle the labour related issues after this government took over the administration in June last year. “However, the labour act still remains quite complex.”
FNCCI’s second vice-chairman Diwakar Golchha said the domestic sugar factories need protection.
Central President of Nepal Carpet Manufacturers’ Association Krishna Prasad Maske said the government should take initiatives to explore whether Japan and the USA could be alternative markets to Nepalese carpets, which depend almost entirely on the German market.
Industrialist Chiranjivi Lal Agrawal said Nepal should adopt an anti dumping act to check unhealthy competition.
The Prime Minister’s Press Advisor Kishore Nepal was also present at the gathering, which was participated in by over two dozen representatives of the business community.