PHDCCI India-Nepal Centre in association with the Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL), Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Startup Network (TSN) organized India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023 in Birgunj on Thursday to create a uniquely important platform for discussing a forward looking bilateral economic partnership agenda. The deliberations supported by the decision-makers were aimed at opening new avenues of business engagements and investments in the key sectors of economy besides giving a much-needed boost to the trade near the crucial India-Nepal border in Birgunj, an economic hub of Nepal. Some of the key points of the Summit were to create a platform through joint action for deeper economic engagement between India and Nepal (with focus on remittance, imports, exports and Balance of Payment (BoP) challenges in Nepal), to channelize investment from India to Nepal and other ways round, to re-establish the India-Nepal bilateral relations as the core strength of the sub-regional co-operation in South Asia, to create a sustained convergence of industry and government for thriving on the mutually beneficial India-Nepal bilateral relations in all crucial realms.

Likewise, to bring-in to notice the hidden potential in the Border Area Development Program (with 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, to discuss and ideate for making Cluster-based Economic Zones across Nepal and to further relax the cross-border trade norms to secure and sustain the greater economic engagements.

During the program, Sushil Bhatta, CEO, 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, reads a statement issued by the PHDCCI India-Nepal Centre. 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 policy level that need to be tackled. For further making the border trade movement smoother and more efficient, Shailendra Kumar, Consul (PCS) apprised about the steps being undertaken. Speaking at the same program, 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 economy. NSBL’s MD and 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, reads the statement. 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. Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya, lawmaker Kumar Agrawal, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Anukool Bhatnagar, Managing Partner, Comprehensive Financial Assets & Advisory Services LLP and former MD and CEO, Nepal SBI Bank Ltd Deepak Rauniar, founder CEO, Oorja World Sunil KC, Vice President of NICCI Kunal Kayal, Chairperson (Industry & Export Promotion Committee) of NICCI Abhishek Choudhary, President of NICCI Birgunj Chapter Ashok Temani, President (Madhesh Pradesh) of FNCCI Vijay Kant Karna, Executive Chairperson of Centre for Social Inclusion and Federalism Mahesh Kumar Agrawal, Bihar State Coordinator of Seema Jagran Manch Ashok Kumar Baidya and Chairman of Nepal-Bharat Sahyog Manch Chandra Kishore among others were present in program.