KATHMANDU: The Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) have discussed ways to further strengthen Nepal-India economic cooperation and institutional coordination between the two institutions.

The delegation led by Sunil KC, President of NICCI, met with FNCCI President Anjan Shrestha and discussed issues related to bilateral trade and investment, energy, tourism, information technology and artificial intelligence (AI), economic diplomacy, industrial-academia collaboration and promotion of joint investment in India.

During the meeting, NICCI President KC congratulated Shrestha for assuming the responsibility of FNCCI President and expressed his commitment to take forward productive and result-oriented joint initiatives between the two organizations. He said that regular and structured dialogue is necessary to make NICCI’s long-standing institutional relationship with FNCCI more active.

Welcoming the delegation, FNCCI President Shrestha appreciated NICCI’s continuous involvement and said that India has an important role to play in Nepal’s trade and overall economic relations. Stating that there is a need for more coordination on Nepal-India economic relations, he said that NICCI’s role as a binational chamber of commerce and industry is closely related to the objective of promoting FNCCI’s commercial and economic interests.

The current status of Nepal-India trade and opportunities to strengthen Nepal’s domestic production and industrialization were also discussed in the meeting. President Shrestha drew attention to the possibility of expanding the partnership of Nepali industries and companies with the Indian states bordering Nepal, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He said that such cooperation in the production and food sectors can contribute to the development of Nepali industries.

Bilateral energy cooperation was taken as a key priority in the meeting. The participants stressed on the need for greater participation and investment of the private sector and timely development of necessary transmission infrastructure to achieve the target of exporting 10,000 MW of electricity in the next 10 years. It was also agreed to continue regular dialogue on cooperation in the energy sector.

Likewise, possibilities of expanding tourism relations and cooperation with Indian tourist destinations including Varanasi and opportunities for collaboration in emerging areas such as information technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) were discussed.

NICCI has proposed to organize an annual ‘Nepal-India CEO Roundtable’ to enhance direct interaction between the private sector leaders of the two countries during high-level bilateral visits and meetings between Nepal and India. The two organizations have agreed to collaborate to take the proposal forward.

Similarly, discussions were held on the possibility of organizing Nepal’s investment summit in New Delhi on a regular basis and the proposal to participate in the joint initiative of FNCCI and NICCI in ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ by setting up a separate pavilion in Nepal.

The NICCI has re-proposed the provision of ex-officio permanent vice-president post for the president of NICCI in FNCCI to further strengthen long-term institutional coordination on Nepal-India economic issues. FNCCI President Shrestha said that the proposal will be considered in accordance with the current statute and institutional process of the federation.

During the meeting, NICCI’s participation in the Nepal-India Joint Business Forum (JBF) was also discussed. NICCI also requested to consider a more important role in the forum and the responsibilities of the Chairman or Co-Chairperson. FNCCI has committed to take initiatives to further expand the participation of NICCI in JBF.

Similarly, the participation of NICCI in the MNC and FDI Forum which is in the process of formation in FNCCI and issues related to the binational Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also discussed. The participants stressed on the need to make the institutional coordination more effective and resolve the remaining issues.

The two sides agreed to formulate joint initiatives in trade, investment, energy, exchange of business delegations, investment promotion, tourism, information technology and artificial intelligence, industry-academia cooperation, food security, industrialization and energy security, among others.

The meeting was attended by FNCCI President Anjan Shrestha, Senior Vice President Sur Krishna Baidya, Director General Gopal Prasad Tiwari, NICCI President Sunil KC, Vice President Kunal Kayal, Director Marshal Rathore, Program Associate Shreyashi Rana and AIDIA Research Director Kuber Chalise.