Finance Minister Barsaman Pun has said that Nepal can compete in the regional market in the field of information technology (IT).

Speaking at a programme organised by the All Nepal Federation Trade Unions, a labour organisation affiliated to the Maoist Centre, Thursday, Finance Minister Pun said that IT was an area in which Nepal could compete with two giant neighbours, India and China.

He said that the government had given IT sector a high priority through the budget of the next fiscal year in view of huge potential in IT sector.

Stating that Nepal, which is a landlocked country, faced challenges to take its products to the world market using maritime access, he said that IT was a suitable option.

He said that IT services worth Rs. 67 billion were exported in the last fiscal year and this amount would exceed Rs. 100 billion in the current fiscal year.

“We have to create a model of development by correctly identifying our originality, location, production capacity and production relation. As India and China have a huge population and geography, we will have to see in which area we can compete," he said.

"India and China are called hubs or powerhouses of global production. Supply chains from all over the world come to China and India. Because everything is produced there and distributed all over the world, we have to compete with them. According to our location, we can compete with both neighbours in the information technology sector.”

Finance Minister Pun said that seeing the competitive market, he had given the IT sector a high priority in the budget.

"Looking at the statistics of the past few years, it is noticed that we can compete in the sectors such as IT, tourism, hydropower, agriculture and cement," he said. "We can create jobs and achieve rapid economic development through these sectors. So, the government has prioritised those areas through the budget,” he said.

In a different context, stating that the constitution envisaged a three-pillar economic policy of state capital, private sector and cooperative, he said that it was necessary to move forward with common views on economic policy and development of the country.

“That is not only our commitment to utilise state capital, private capital and cooperatives together, it is also a guideline of the constitution,” Minister Pun said. "General continuity alone is not enough. There should be a new stage of economic reform.''

He said that the government was preparing to form a committee or commission consisting of experts to bring radical changes and rapid development in the economy through the combination of public, private and cooperative sectors.

Minister Pun said that the economy was gradually returning to its right course due to the policies of the government.

He said that the economic growth of 1.9 per cent last year is projected to be 4 per cent in the current fiscal year and 6 per cent in the next fiscal year.