Boosting exports crucial for prosperity: FinMin

KATHMANDU:

Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat has said that it is impossible to attain prosperity unless the country boosts its exports because the country is currently financing its imports through remittance and that is a temporary remedy.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Minister Mahat, while speaking at a programme organised by a local cooperative in Nawalparasi district, urged the members of the cooperative and locals to focus on producing niche products that have a competitive edge for export and can easily access the market of southern neighbour India and Bangladesh as well.

The statement further quoted Mahat as saying that Nepal’s export base will expand substantively after it starts exporting energy to India, which has now been permitted through the recently signed Power Trade Agreement (PTA) with India.

As per the statement, the finance minister said the country is currently harnessing only one per cent of its total potential of hydro-electricity generation. He said this will change with power evacuated to the national grid along with completion of hydro projects that are either under construction or in the pipeline to be constructed.

SOurce: THT