Private sector lauds BIPPA
KATHMANDU, OCT 26 -
At a time when the signing of Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) with India is creating a political furore, the private sector has asked the parties not to give a political colour to the agreement.
Arguing that the BIPPA has been signed with an aim of promoting trade and economy of both the countries, they asked the government to make prompt arrangements for ratifying the pact.
“Economic ties and pacts have always been given political flavour in Nepal and are used for parties’ vested interests,” said the industrialists at a press meet organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) here to brief the prime minister’s recent visit to India. “We ask all the stakeholders to take the BIPPA purely as an economic agenda and move towards reaping the benefits of this deal.”
FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya said signing of the BIPPA has reinforced the confidence of Indian investors. “BIPPA has reinforced the confidence of Indian investors. It has nothing, but socio-economic benefits,” said Vaidya.
He, however, warned that the signing of BIPPA alone cannot secure foreign direct investment (FDI) from India, but the government should guarantee the security of their investments here.
FNCCI Senior Vice president Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar termed the PM’s India visit ‘successful’, as it prioritised the national economic agenda. “The BIPPA deal will make the government even more proactive to resolve problems of the industrial sector,” said Rajkarnikar. “FNCCI requests the government to make arrangements for signing similar pacts with other countries as well.”
The signing of BIPPA, according to Rajkarnikar, might be instrumental in attracting more investment in 2012-13, which the government has announced as Nepal Investment Year.
Former FNCCI President Padma Jyoti briefed the media about the Joint Economic Council (JEC) meeting of FNCCI and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). According to Jyoti, the meeting mainly discussed issues including transit and transportation, trade and business, power and energy and tourism. “JEC members made commitments to work jointly with the Nepali private sector to boost the countries’ economy,” said Jyoti.
During the PM’s New-Delhi trip, an FNCCI delegation also met Indian Commerce Minister Ananda Sharma and briefed him about problems being faced by Nepali importers at the Kolkata port. A 30-member FNCCI delegation had accompanied the PM to New Delhi.
Source: Kantipur
