Kathmandu. President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Birendra Raj Pandey, said that the countries having economies like ours have already reached far ahead of us.

“It is important for our policymakers and regulators to understand why and how these countries have been able to achieve progress,” he said. “If the policy is stable, the productive industries are protected and the establishment of industries is encouraged, we can also move forward in a short time through industrialization,” he said.

Speaking at the budget watch programme focused on industrial development, the CNI said that industrial development was inevitable for overall economic development. Regarding industrial development, there is a need for effective implementation of the issues mentioned in the budget.

“We should focus on industrial development and carry out policy reforms accordingly,” he said, adding that it would help increase domestic production and replace import. “We cannot build a self-reliant economy if domestic production is not increased,” he said.

“At a time when the world is competing in trade, we need to be clear about our goals,” he said. “Only self-reliant economy can achieve economic prosperity in a sustainable manner”, he said, adding, “Therefore, it is necessary to focus the next budget in this direction along with the effective implementation of the budget for the current fiscal year.” ’

The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has been playing constructive role in the successful implementation of the government’s plans and programmes, he said. According to him, the CNI has been giving policy recommendations for the development and expansion of the overall economy by giving first priority to the economy.

He said that the Budget Watch initiative has been forwarded to discuss how the budget implementation could be made effective as everyone has realized that the budget has important goals but its implementation is weak.

According to him, the successful implementation of the budget would lead to increase capital expenditure, achieve the goals specified by the budget, and develop and expand the overall economy through policy reforms. “Therefore, successful and effective implementation of the budget is very important,” he said.

Reminding that the CNI has been giving policy suggestions on behalf of the private sector in the budget, he said, “Our policy suggestions are also included in the budget. That gives us enthusiasm. But when it comes to the implementation phase, the budget implementation is very weak, which makes us disappointed. ’