Experts have stressed the need for Nepal to focus on making products related to information and technology along with prioritizing the projects that are compatible to address the issues of climate change while inviting the foreign investment in the country.

Speaking at the ‘Nagarik Impact Forum’ organized by Nepal Republic Media on Monday, the stakeholders stressed on the need for keeping in view the aforementioned issues in the upcoming Nepal Investment Summit 2024. The government has announced plans to organize the third edition of the investment summit scheduled for April 28-29 in Kathmandu.

Sushil Bhatta, chief executive officer of the IBN, said they have listed a number of green projects in the pipeline and are expecting the collaboration of the private sector to materialize the projects. “In the upcoming investment summit, the IBN will carry out screening of the proposed projects and will allow only those projects which are compatible to sectoral strategies of the government,” he said.

Bhatta stressed on the need for developing common consensus in the prelude to the proposed investment summit. According to him, the board has been working on 82 components related to the business environment targeting the upcoming gathering.

Bhatta said they have proposed the government to amend 11 umbrella acts including the Public Private Partnership and Investment Act 2019. “The board has considered improving the private sector ecosystem while inviting the foreign investment in projects that have social acceptance.”

Nepal is one of the least contributors to carbon emission while it is one of the countries that suffer the largest impacts of climate change. Sambridhi Gyawali, chief executive officer of Nepal Republic Media Limited, said Nepal has potential to produce sustainable and renewable energy sufficient also for a number of its neighboring countries. “While selecting the projects, the authorities must consider environment and social governance rather than just looking at the monetary returns from the projects,” Gyawali said.

Amlan Mukherjee, managing director of Unilever Nepal Limited (UNL), said Nepal has immense potential to offer foreign investors with business sustainability. Giving an example of the UNL which uses around 70 percent of its energy consumption from green energy sources, Mukherjee said the authorities concerned should look forward to facilitating the businesses that follow the global best practices while providing freedom to consumers to rely on trustworthy products.

Speaking at a separate session, experts of the IT sector suggested that Nepal needs to prioritize IT products than just facilitating the related services. “At present, the IT sector has grown more informally inside the country than the formal channel. The government should make necessary policies to boost the sector through formal channels,” said Kailash Bijayananda, senior vice-president of Leapfrog Technology.