Nepal

Kathmandu, April 28

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari urged Chinese entrepreneurs to benefit from immense investment opportunities being unfolded in Nepal. She was addressing Chinese business community at the Nepal-China Economic and Trade Forum organised jointly today by the Embassy of Nepal and Economic Joint Committee of China Commercial Stock Enterprises.

In her remarks, President Bhandari highlighted the governmentagenda of economic transformation under the motto of ‘Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepali& and called on Chinese investors to tap on the investment opportunities available in Nepal arising from its natural resources, political stability and supportive policy environment.

&Natural and cultural diversity has made Nepal a tourist paradise round the year. The government has announced the year 2020 as Visit Nepal Year with the aim of attracting two million tourists,& President Bhandari said .

&We also seek investment to upgrade tourism infrastructure including hotels and resorts. Therefore, it is an opportune time to invest in Nepal.

Business environment in Nepal is conducive from all aspects,& she said.

President Bhandari urged Chinese investors to invest their capital and experiment technological innovations in Nepal.

&I assure you that you will gain for sure if you invest in Nepal. It will also benefit Nepal in terms of job creation and trade expansion,& she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali highlighted investment opportunities for foreign investors in Nepal and urged Chinese entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the abundant opportunities by investing in hydropower, manufacturing industries, information technology, services, tourism, mining, herbal medicines and agro-based industries.

Minister Gyawali unveiled a publication on investment and business opportunities in Nepal, titled ‘Nepal: A land of abundant opportunities& published by the embassy.

CEO of Investment Board of Nepal, Maha Prasad Adhikari made a presentation on the policies and procedures in regard to investment opportunities in Nepal.

In their speeches, representatives of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Confederation of Nepalese Industry, and Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce expressed their willingness to enhance mutual partnership between the business enterprises of the two countries and urged Chinese business enterprises to make investments in Nepaldiverse sectors.

Similarly, representatives of Chinese enterprises investing in Nepal shared their experiences on doing business in the country. Three separate MoUs on promoting cooperation between Nepali and Chinese organisations, including that between Investment Board of Nepal and China Overseas Development Association, were signed at the event. Members of Nepali delegation accompanying the president participated in the program.

Meanwhile, president Bhandari attended the opening ceremony of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 in Beijing.

Inaugurated the Nepali Pavilion (Lumbini Peace Garden) at the exhibition, President Bhandari planted a tree sapling brought from Nepal.

According to a press release issued by Nepali Embassy in Beijing, President Bhandari was accompanied by Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Chief Minister of Province 3 Dormani Paudel, among other members of the Nepali delegation team.

The president also visited the White Pagoda temple in Beijing. Upon arrival, senior officials of the temple welcomed the president and briefed her about the pagodasignificance in Chinacultural and architectural history.

Built in the thirteenth century during the Yuan Dynasty by Nepali architect Arniko, the White Pagoda is an iconic heritage symbolising the ageold cultural relation between Nepal and China.

Kathmandu, April 28

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has promised to end the culture of begging from the country.

&Now onwards no Nepali citizen will be forced to beg in the street to meet survival needs,& he said.

While chairing todayfull meeting of the National Planning Commission, the prime minister said the government would take the responsibility of fulfilling the survival needs of poor, helpless and incapacitated people. He was confident that there would be a significant fall in the number of people living under absolute poverty during upcoming fifth periodic plan.

‘Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepali& is the slogan of the government.

No one will have to endure hunger in the days ahead, according to the PM.

&We expect your telephone calls if you find someone begging in the street out of compulsion and the government will take care of them as part of the Prime Minister Employment Programme. The society is free but no one is allowed to die because of compulsive circumstances,& said the PM, who serves as the NPC chair as well, promising a double-digit economic growth in the future.

Cement industry has a huge potential in the country. Nepal could become self-sufficient in cement production. It can also import cement to India and Bangladesh by utilising limestone available here. Nepal will be gradually transformed into an independent and prosperous nation by making every geographical area productive and through trade and commerce, according to the PM.

Kathmandu, April 27

The government has issued the Garden Development and Management Procedure-2019 to entertain the general public, promote tourism, enhance the aesthetic value of rural and urban areas and manage open spaces for disaster management through gardens and parks.

The procedure that aims to bring about positive impact on environment and public health has set standards for establishment and development of gardens.

As per the procedure, there will be a seven-member Central Garden Coordination Committee led by the minister of Urban Development. It includes secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development, and joint secretaries at the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, and director general at the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction as members.

The committee has been mandated with the task of identifying places for development and construction of gardens and parks, recommend to the government to declare national level gardens and formulate necessary policies. The decisions of the committee will be implemented by the federal project implementation units under the DoUDBC. &The units will construct, upgrade, expand, maintain and manage gardens in line with the directives of the committee,& the procedure reads.

The procedure has classified the gardens into six categories. They include natural and ecological garden, cultural and historical garden, botanical garden, childrengarden, science and information technology garden and industrial garden. The government may declare any of such facilities as national garden on the recommendation of the committee.

As per the procedure, a garden needs to fulfil certain requirements and meet the prescribed standards to be declared a national garden.

&For this purpose, a garden should be situated in an accessible place of the city where there is at least a twolane road leading to the facility with a river system or green area and open space in its vicinity,& it says.

The garden requires to have the land area prescribed by the committee with at least a 50 per cent open space of its land coverage.

Other requirements include the facilities of a meeting hall, a waiting shed, an information centre, a picnic spot, a childrenpark, a parking area and some indigenous plants and flowers.

Similarly, the facility should have round-the-clock water and power supply, drinking water and good sanitation system, playground and sports equipment, among other amenities.