Ambassador of Nepal to Pakistan Sewa Lamsal Adhikari has invited the Pakistani business community to take part in the Investment Summit scheduled to be held in Nepal in the beginning of March. She said this while talking to the office-bearers of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), here Thursday.
She said that participation of the LCCI delegation in this summit would help Pakistani businessmen to exploit untapped business potential in Nepal. The government of Nepal is ready to offer on-arrival visa to Pakistani businessmen to promote two-way trade, she said. "Pakistan is one of the most important countries for Nepal to promote regional trade especially in prospective of SAARC regime but the logistics issues, lack of communication and proper marketing were some hurdles in expansion of bilateral trade," she added.
She said that both Pakistan and Nepal should work on Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Nepal would welcome the proposals of the Lahore Chamber to enhance two-way trade. She said, "There should be a legal and policy framework for mutual trade promotion." She said that tourism sector of Nepal has utmost importance and businessmen of both countries should set up joint venture in this particular sector to share experience. She also stressed the need for exchange of business delegations between the two countries.
The LCCI acting President Amjad Ali Jawa said that Nepal, being a land-locked country between China and India, is heavily depended on neighbouring countries for trade through land routes. "Pakistan exports rose to $2.3 million in 2015 from $0.8 million in 2014. However, the imports from Nepal to Pakistan remained as low as $0.5 million in the same year, he added.
He said, "These trade figures suggest that we desperately need to make efforts for developing people to people contact, tourism links, direct flights between Pakistan and Nepal for building mutual relations and supporting the bilateral trade." It will be a good idea to form a partnership between LCCI and Embassy of Nepal to expedite business affairs and proposals, he added.
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