With a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of almost five trillion dollars and a population of over 1.8 billion, the BIMSTEC region offers tremendous potential and complementaries for our resilience, growth and development, said Damodar Bhandari, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Government of Nepal.
Addressing delegates from across member countries at the BIMSTEC Business Summit in New Delhi, Minister Bhandari stated, "The summit is a true testament of our unwavering commitment and shared goals of realising sustainability, regional peace, and prosperity in the Bay of Bengal region. This can be achieved through multi-pronged partnerships, strong collaboration, mutual trust and solidarity among public as well as private sector stakeholders of domestic members."
Minister Bhandari highlighted Nepal's strategic advantages, citing its abundance of natural resources, advantageous location and diverse cultural heritage as key factors that present unique opportunities for investment and trade. He also pointed out the growing competitiveness of Nepal's workforce, particularly women, as a significant asset for economic development.
"The government has made continuous policy reforms to promote trade, investment and connectivity with our neighbours and beyond," Minister Bhandari said. "For instance, the Government of Nepal has amended seven different laws to create a conducive business climate ahead of the Third Nepal Investment Summit held in Kathmandu in April this year."
He urged private sector delegates to seize these opportunities by boosting business ventures and investments in Nepal's promising sectors. Minister Bhandari emphasised the importance of fostering cooperation to support Nepal's integration into regional value chains and trade networks.
Minister Bhandari also addressed the challenges faced by Nepal as a landlocked country, particularly the high trade logistic costs associated with foreign trade. He commended neighbouring and friendly countries for their ongoing support and solidarity, emphasising the importance of transit rights for landlocked nations like Nepal.
The Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation group was first established in June 1997 and in 2004, it was expanded to include Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal to become the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
BIMSTEC's primary focus is economic and technical cooperation among the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia that are geographically around the Bay of Bengal. Five Summit meetings have been held so far, with the sixth to take place in Thailand this year.
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