The first day of the ongoing Nepal Investment Summit has drawn the wide attention of politicians, policymakers, investors, business leaders and other stakeholders.

Attended by over 1,400 participants, including representatives of government agencies, the private sector, and Nepal’s development partners, the summit showcased 154 projects in various stages of preparation, including 19 that were being readied for soliciting Expressions of Interest from potential investors, the Secretariat of the Nepal Investment Summit stated.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda” inaugurated the Summit and shared the measures taken by the country to make the environment more conducive for doing business.

“We are committed to carry out continuous reforms to facilitate investors, industrialists, innovators, and ease the doing business environment,” said PM Prachanda.

The government has amended eight different laws relating to business and investment, he added.

Likewise, the Prime Minister attended a meeting with business leaders from 22 countries to assure them of Nepal’s readiness to support investors interested in undertaking projects in Nepal.

As shared by the Secretariat, two separate Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) were signed on Sunday. One agreement was signed between the BLC Group Nepal and Yotta Data Services, Pvt. Ltd. India, and another was between the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and National Chamber of Commerce, Malaysia.

Minister for Finance Barsha Man Pun said it was an important platform for the government to reach out to potential investors and for investors to provide feedback.

Former prime minister and President of the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) Sher Bahadur Deuba, Secretary General of the UN Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan and Regional Director of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Ben Mellor, Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of United States of America Dean R. Thompson, and Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China Chen Song addressed the session.