Jailtey to visit Nepal tomorrow for investment summit

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will visit Nepal from tomorrow to participate in an international summit aimed at boosting infrastructure investments in the landlocked country.
The Nepal Investment Summit 2017 in Kathmandu from March 2-3 will see the participation of nearly 250 companies from about two dozen countries, Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi told reporters here.
Jaitley, who will be the keynote speaker at the summit, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) president Jin Liqun have confirmed their participation, organisers said.
Other countries attending the summit include the US, the UK, Russia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Italy, France, Spain and Vietnam.
Around 300 Nepalese firms will also take part in the summit whose theme is 'Harnessing Investment Opportunities', Joshi said.

Chinese firms are likely to outnumber Indian companies at the summit, with confirmed participation of 99 firms from China and 21 from India.

Twenty companies from Sri Lanka, 14 from Malaysia, 13 from Japan and 10 from Canada have also confirmed their attendance at the summit.
The aim of the summit is to position Nepal as an attractive investment destination and to explore possibilities of foreign investment in hydropower, infrastructure, tourism, information technology, mining industry and agriculture.
The summit is expected to help Nepal fulfil its infrastructure gap and provide feedback to policymakers about reforms needed to promote investment, Joshi said.

According to media reports, this will be the first investment summit in Kathmandu since the promulgation of the Constitution in 2015.