Kathmandu. Shishir Priyadarshi, president of Chintan Research Foundation, a think tank under The Adani Group of India, has said that cooperation between the private sector of Nepal and India will benefit both the countries.

Shishir Priyadarshi, President of CRF and Head of Adani Group World Relations and former Director of WTO, gave five suggestions to increase economic coordination in Nepal and take advantage of Indian economic growth.

He called for establishing Nepal-India Economic Forum to promote regular dialogue, ease of doing business and policy coordination. He suggested early implementation of works such as taking advantage of easy opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the two countries, simplifying the trade process and utilizing infrastructure.

“Nepal should develop special economic zones in the border areas that attract investment and encourage export-oriented industries,” he said, adding that collaboration, knowledge exchange and new market access should be ensured between entrepreneurs and technology innovators of both countries by building startups and innovation bridges. There is a need to improve the connectivity capacity of hydropower by investing in border infrastructure and remove the existing transit barriers, he said.

Through the event titled ‘India’s Trillion Dollar Economy: Opportunities for Nepal’, Priyadarshi highlighted india’s economic success story.

“There are plenty of opportunities to share between India and Nepal, but those opportunities themselves do not translate into results,” he said, adding that engagement between the private sector in various sectors, including energy cooperation, is the main basis of shared prosperity. Deeper policy coordination between the governments of the two countries is also needed to move forward. ’

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between AIDA and CRF. The objective of the agreement is to institutionalize cooperation between the two institutions and promote joint research, policy advocacy, and strategic dialogue on regional development and diplomacy.

Sunil KC, founder of AIDA, said that this partnership is an important achievement for both the organizations. “This reflects our shared commitment towards formulating implementable policies,” he said.

India is currently a $4.19 trillion economy. Which is adding an additional $1 trillion every 12 to 18 months. But neighboring Nepal is lagging behind in taking advantage of that opportunity.