In view of the upcoming Third Investment Summit announced for April 21-22 in Kathmandu, the government today held a meeting with development partners.

The government received submissions from the bilateral and multi-lateral donor agencies in regard to the preparations for the Summit amidst an official programme at the Ministry of Finance.

According to Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, the meeting focused on generating ideas for making the Summit effective and result-oriented.

"We are seeking inputs from investors in regard to the investment atmosphere in Nepal and areas they believe need improvements," the Finance Minister said, adding that Nepal presents an atmosphere conducive to investment. "Demand side is higher than supplies in Nepal, making it an attractive destination for investment."

As he said, there are high potentialities for hydropower, tourism, information technology and agricultural development in Nepal. Nepal presents a favourable ground for investment in small and medium enterprises as well. He added the government is seriously working to address challenges in the investment sector.

"Bills regarding laws against money laundering are likely to be endorsed by the parliament. We could work toward the achievement of Sovereign Credit Rating before the Summit date. We are dedicated to removing all sorts of challenges and hurdles for the investment," the Finance Minister assured.

In the meeting, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said the government is effortful to make policy-level and procedural improvements for the investment. The meeting also includes discussions for showcasing projects during the Summit.

For the conference, separate committees like the director committee led by the finance minister, the implementation committee led by the chief secretary and the technical committee led by the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies have been formed.

The first meeting of the director committee took place on November 26 and the implementation committee meeting on December 5. But the technical committee meeting is yet to be organised.

The director committee is tasked with approving the conference schedule and model, identifying the area of required policy reforms to create a climate for the conference and looking after the whole affairs of the conference.

The committee's members are the foreign minister, the energy minister, the physical infrastructure minister, the culture and tourism minister, the industry minister, the agriculture minister, the development urban minister and the federal affairs minister, vice chairperson of the National Planning Commission, chief secretary, governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, secretary of the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, finance secretary, industry secretary and chairpersons of three umbrella organisations in the private sector.

The implementation committee is tasked with preparing the proposal to be submitted to the director committee, coordinating with the stakeholders and providing necessary help to the director committee for the whole preparation of the conference.

Members of the committee are secretaries of the line ministries, deputy governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank and chairperson of the umbrella organisations in the private sector.

The technical committee is tasked with developing the project concept after analysing the status of the projects to be presented at the conference, developing attractive and reliable projects to be proposed and preparing various memorandums of understanding and agreements to be made. The committee members are joint secretaries of the line ministries.