Kathmandu. The stakeholders have stressed the need for effective cooperation between the government and the private sector to utilize the available opportunities by minimizing the possible challenges arising after Nepal being upgraded from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.

At an awareness workshop organized by the Inclusive Business Environment of Nepal and Small and Medium Enterprises Enhancement Project under the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) here on Monday, the industrialists, entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and other stakeholders called for immediate preparation for the transition.

Federation President Anjan Shrestha said that the government could move away from the LDC status for the time being but it was necessary to make clear, time-bound and implementable preparations from now itself to maintain the competitive capacity of Nepali products due to the possible changes in the business and other facilities after that.

Stating that the expected utilization of the preparatory period received earlier could not be made, he stressed that the additional time available now should be utilized effectively. “The time to move away will come immediately. As the facilities gradually disappear after the upgrade, the basis of competing in the international market is the cost, quality and efficiency of production. Therefore, the government should immediately improve in such areas. The private sector should also move from facility-based competition to capacity-based competition and increase investment in product quality, technology, value chain and market diversification,” said Shrestha.

On the occasion, President of FNCCI Bagmati Province Bed Bahadur Shrestha said that the private sector should be alerted and prepared on time as the impact of the LDC upgrade would reach the industries and businesses at the state and local levels.

He underscored the need to increase collaboration among the government, private sector and development partners to utilize the upgrade as a new opportunity, not just a challenge.

In the workshop, project consultant Bhojraj Pokharel presented the opportunities and challenges to be faced by Nepal in achieving the upgrade and stressed that Nepal should prepare for the transition in a planned manner. He said that production capacity, quality, market diversification and competitive capacity of the private sector should be increased to utilize the opportunities available after the upgrade.

Similarly, Roshan Nepal, Project Head of ‘Nepal’s Inclusive Business Environment and Small and Medium Enterprises Enhancement Project’, informed about the objectives of the project and said that the project is working to create an inclusive and competitive business environment in Nepal, enhance the capacity of small and medium enterprises and expand their market access. He also informed that they are also conducting sectoral and market studies on the possible impact of LDC upgrading.

The federation has been raising awareness and discussions on the issue of LDC upgradation from the state level. This is the fourth workshop in the series held in Kathmandu after Biratnagar, Birendranagar and Dhangadhi. The federation has said that such programs will also be organized in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur in the coming days. Industrialists, businessmen, SMEs, development partners and various stakeholders participated in the workshop.