Friday 19th April 2024
In a committed approach to its ‘hydropower’ and ‘tourism’ sector, Nepal is conducting an investment program to study the possibility of developing projects in these sectors.
By launching the investment program, it aims at drawing Qatar investments in hydropower and tourism projects, said Nepal Ambassador to Qatar Ramesh Prasad Koirala.
Likewise, Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport are also interested in developing tourism-related projects with Nepal Government in the future.
Talking about tourism ties, Koirala also identified India and China as countries with huge potential for Nepal Tourism. “India and China are large markets and Nepal is situated between these two countries, presenting a lot of opportunities, especially in the tourism sector,” he said on the occasion of Nepal National Day in Doha.
The investment program also aims to attract business delegations who will visit both countries and study the option to develop projects in sectors including hydropower, tourism and agriculture.
Agriculture, Hydropower & More
Koirala identifies ‘agriculture’ as a key sector for Qatar considering its food security initiatives. Owing to Nepal’s good climatic conditions, the country can be of great support to the Qatar Government’s food initiatives as it has a wide variety of organic farm produce.
Nepal is looking forward to exporting its products to Qatar and will be sending a Nepali trade delegation next month to the Middle-East country and showcase the Himalayan nation’s products, adds the Nepali Ambassador.
In terms of hydropower Koirala said, “We plan to bring in economic experts from Nepal to highlight the investment opportunities in Nepal. In the area of hydropower, this is one of the cleanest forms of energy. I think we are the second largest country in the world after Brazil to develop hydropower.”
Besides these, Nepal also plans to export mineral water to the gulf country, among other world nations.
Adding further, he said, investors from Qatar will be coming to Nepal to collect samples from natural water sources, after the rainy season.
“The Himalayas is a mountainous area that is replete with sources of pure water. Right now, experts in Nepal are testing the water’s natural mineral content because it must comply with GCC standards. Once all these have been finalized, then we could expect export to start,” Koirala said.
Previous Pacts:
Earlier in April 2018, the Nepal Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Qatar Chamber signed an agreement to ‘enhance cooperation’ and ‘exchange of information and meetings’.
Qatar Chamber Board Member Khaled Bin Jabor Al Kuwari said that the agreement was signed to establish friendly ties between businessmen from both countries for investment partnership that is crucial to enhancing bilateral relations in the commercial sector.
He also urged Qatari businessmen to gain knowledge about investment opportunities in Nepal and make use of investments incentives from the tourism and trade sectors.
Nepal Chamber Vice-President Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar also invited Qatar businessmen to visit Nepal to explore business opportunities and get to know their Nepali counterparts.
Conclusion:
Hope the fresh round of talks brings about some major breakthroughs for Nepal in its hydropower, agriculture, tourism and water sectors.
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