Need for roadshows in India to project investment scope in Nepal: Diplomat Ranjit Rae

New Delhi, Mar 21 (KNN) Voicing the potential possibilities of starting businesses in Nepal,  former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae said that Nepal needs to start projecting its potentials to investors in India.

Rae made the comments addressing a group of senior Nepalese print and electronic media persons under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

“Nepal needs to be pro-active in creating awareness amongst the Indian business of the opportunities in that country through regular road shows”, he said.

Ambassador Rae further said that it would be wrong to assume that investment opportunities were limited in Nepal. The success stories of a host of Indian companies doing business in Nepal counters this perception. The time is ripe for a targeted approach towards attracting investments from India, he said.

Rae urged FICCI  to coordinate with its counterpart chamber in Nepal to join hands in preparing a list of concrete projects that would be attractive for Indian companies so that investments could fructify expeditiously.

Ambassador Rae admitted that in the past, Indian companies have faced problems with regard to the protection of patents which have held them back from investing in Nepal. Another issue was labour law that gave the impression that the country was anti-capital.

He expressed optimism that the new political dispensation in Nepal would promote inward investments and Indian companies would respond positively.

India is Nepal’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between India and Nepal has grown from US$ 3631.94 million in 2012-13 to US$ 5892.72 million in 2016-17, a jump of nearly 63% in four years, FICCI said in a release. (KNN/DA)