KATHMANDU: The 32nd annual general meeting of the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nikkei) has unanimously elected a new working committee under the chairmanship of Kunal Kayal.

In the AGM, the returning officer announced the election of the new leadership. He had earlier held the post of vice-president during the tenure of the outgoing president Sunil K.C. He had successfully held the post of vice-president during the tenure of Krijana Rana and treasurer during the tenure of Srijana Rana.

The first meeting of the 9-member executive committee elected by the general assembly as per the statute of the association has given full shape to the working committee by nominating it. Karan Kumar Chaudhary and Gaurav Tayal have been elected as vice-presidents of the new working committee, while Varna Lamichhane has been nominated as general secretary and Shailaja Adhikari as treasurer.

The members of the executive committee are Sanjay Agrawal, Ramesh Sharma, Shailendra Guragain, Shashikant Agrawal, Susan Karmacharya, Vinay Upadhyay, Ashik Shrestha and Chandra Tandon. The new working committee comprising business leaders from the sectors of energy, manufacturing, education, telecommunication and trade has set the slogan “Expanding Economic Horizons: Accelerating Bilateral Trade, Investment and Energy Transition”.

On the occasion, the newly elected President Kayal was presented with the Presidential Certificate of Honor. And Director General K.M. Singh was honored with a memento as a token of appreciation for his outstanding contribution.

Prof. Amitabh Mattu, Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, who was the keynote speaker at the meeting, gave a thought-provoking view on the structure of Nepal-India relations. Stating that the decisions taken in New Delhi will have an impact on Nepal, he described the art of running the state as the management of structural agreements and understandings. Presenting the five pillars of the relationship between the two countries, he made a special appeal to Nepal to move from a landlocked situation to a land-based relationship.

The distinguished speaker of the program was former Ambassador of Nepal to India Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma, former President of Nepal to India. He expressed gratitude for giving dynamism to the Chamber and highlighted various dimensions of Nepal-India economic relations. Stating that India’s political stability and rapid economic development could be a guide for Nepal, he pointed out the possibilities created by petroleum pipelines, renewable energy and the expansion of India’s middle class. He also said that the pace of investment from India to Nepal was somewhat slow, and there was a need to prepare a policy framework on investment agreement immediately and increase cooperation in energy, information technology, tourism and human resource development.

Similarly, Acting Ambassador (Officiating Chief) of the Embassy of India, Dr. Rakesh Pandey said that the 33-year-old history of the association is very proud and the cooperation with the Indian sides in the field of economic and investment is commendable.

Stating that there has been a very cordial and result-oriented cooperation between the Embassy and the Association in the last one year, he expressed the belief that this relationship would be more fruitful in the coming days as well. President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Anjan Shrestha raised the issue of Nepal-India joint task force and stressed on the need for a stronger dialogue between the government and the private sector along with the active advisory role of the business sector. He said that the FNCCI is ready to fully collaborate with Nikki to strengthen the economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Bidushi Rana, Member of Parliament and Permanent Invited Member of Nikkei Chamber of Commerce, expressed her views as an entrepreneur that both countries could benefit from Nepal’s development of clean and green energy as an alternative to coal and more joint ventures should be attracted to Nepal.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was formed in 1993 under the leadership of Prabhakar Shumsher J.B. Rana, formed an ad-hoc committee with the joint efforts of industrialists and businessmen of Nepali and Indian investment, has completed its journey of more than three decades. Under the leadership of the newly elected president Kunal Kayal, the association has expressed its firm commitment to increase the confidence of investors, build an investment framework, expand energy cooperation and make the voice of the business sector effective at the policy level.