To discuss further ways to strengthen the bilateral economic partnership, a one-day "India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023" was organised in Nepal's Birgunj on Wednesday.

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The event was organised in association with the Consulate General of India, Birgunj, Nepal and the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BICCI).

The India-Nepal Centre of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organised the second edition of the India-Nepal Economic Partnership Summit 2023.

While setting the tone of the summit, Session Chair Atul K Thakur, Secretary, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI, reflected on the necessity of having a collaborative approach among the stakeholders in the government and industry to tap the rich potential and also cope with the challenges in post-pandemic times through India-Nepal economic cooperation.

"In today's time, Nepal, being the friendliest neighbour of India, has an active role to play in the South Asia region. As we are all aware, SAARC has been mostly dysfunctional over the years, and other forums too have their limitations. Now it's time that friendly neighbours--India and Nepal--also should come forward and create business for sub-regional cooperation," Atul K Thakur, Secretary of the India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI, said addressing the summit.

The summit dwelt on 'New Roadmap for Accelerating India-Nepal Bilateral Cooperation; Promoting Industrial Development in Nepal and India; Revisiting Bilateral Trade Policies; Expanding Bilateral and Sub-regional Economic Cooperation; Improving Border Area Development and Connectivity.'

In his opening remarks, BICCI president Anil Kumar Agrawal recounted Birgunj's achievements as a major trade hub of Nepal and how BICCI has been contributing over the decades to making industry and trade, the mainstay of this place, crucially important for India-Nepal economic relations.

"In Birgunj, we have big infrastructure--the dry port, the ICP (Integrated Check Post) and other prerequisites for trade. We should focus on how we can utilise and generate more income; in the coming days, we can also work on incorporating the movement of passengers through the ICP. Cargo movement at current times has been diverted to ICP; in the coming days for the passengers- the vehicle as well as the passengers themselves will facilitate cross-border movement."

"Also, it would make the monitoring more effective," Agrawal said.

Further, the President said that, with the PHDCCI India-Nepal Centre, bilateral economic forums like that of Wednesday will be a regular exercise to help the bilateral economic ecosystem between India and Nepal.

The Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker of the Summit, Devi Sahai Meena, Consul General of India, Birgunj, Nepal, reassured India's support to accelerate the economic cooperation between India and Nepal. Through policy and implementation, India has been a key development partner for Nepal.

"India is Nepal's largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign investments. India accounts for almost two-thirds of Nepal's merchandise trade, one-third of trade in services, one-third of direct foreign investments, almost 100 percent of petroleum supplies and a significant share of remittances," Devi Sahai Meena, Consul General of the Consulate of India in Birgunj, said addressing the event.

He added that India-Nepal relations are supported by complementarities and people-to-people, something that should be counted as strong foundational support.

"The Indian Consulate in Birgunj has been organising table talks with the entrepreneurs and businesses of Nepal to explore their problems and solve the issues. We have been doing it and will continue it in further days," Meena told ANI.

On Wednesday's summit, Satish Pattapu, Consul (Economic Cooperation & Commerce), Consulate General of India, Birgunj, Nepal, shared an overview of the main constituents of economic cooperation and challenges at the policy level that need to be tackled.

The other key speakers were, Amb Lok Raj Baral, Nepal's Former Ambassador to India; Jagdish Prasad Agrawal, Chairman, Nimbus Group of Companies; Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Factory Manager, Unilever Nepal Ltd; Deepak Rauniar, Founder CEO, Oorja World; Bikas Rauniar, Executive Director, Interstate Multi-Modal Transport (P) Ltd; Mahesh Kumar Agrawal, Bihar State Coordinator, Seema Jagran Manch; Ashok Kumar Baidya, Chairman, Nepal-Bharat Sahyog Manch; Chandra Kishore, Senior Journalist; Ms Rachana Parajuli, Deputy Director, Nepal Rastra Bank; Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Executive Director, North-South Collectives; Dr Sohan Prasad Sha, Member (Province Policy and Planning Commission), Government of Madhesh Province, Nepal; Kunal Kayal, Chairperson (Industry & Export Promotion Committee), NICCI; Abhishek Choudhary, President, NICCI Birgunj Chapter; Niraj Agrawal, Director, Surgiprotect Pluss Pvt Ltd & Joint Secretary, Birgunj Chamber of Commerce & Industries.

The deliberations, which were supported by the decision-makers, aimed to open new avenues of business engagement in the key sectors of the economy, besides giving a much-needed boost to trade near the crucial India-Nepal border at Birgunj, an economic hub of Nepal.

The Summit played a role in creating a platform through joint action for deeper economic engagement between India and Nepal (with a focus on remittances, imports, exports and balance of payment (BoP) challenges in Nepal).

As per the organisers, it channelled investment from India to Nepal and other ways around to re-establish India-Nepal bilateral relations as the core strength of the sub-regional cooperation in South Asia.

It played a role in creating a sustained convergence of industry and government, thriving on mutually beneficial India-Nepal bilateral relations in all crucial realms.

Bring-in to notice the hidden potential in the Border Area Development Programme and paving the way for India's major involvement in helping the infrastructural facelift of Nepal's bordering districts in Bihar and making them the gateways of the India-Nepal Trade Connection.

The second edition of the India-Nepal economic partnership summit also raised further discussion and ideas for making cluster-based economic zones across Nepal, further relaxing cross-border trade norms to secure and sustain greater economic engagements.