Kathmandu. Stakeholders have called for investment in the far-western region, which is a ‘virgin land’ from a tourism point of view. Speakers at a discussion held at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation here today on the eve of the Sudurpaschim State Investment and Development Summit in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and the project.

On the occasion, Minister for Tourism Badri Prasad Pandey called for investment in tourism infrastructure in the far-western region. He pointed out the need to focus on policy formulation and plan implementation by coordinating among the federal, provincial and local levels to create an environment for investment there.

Tourism Minister Pandey said, “The far-western state is a combination of nature, culture and adventure travel as the main base of tourist attraction. Many tourism possibilities are being highlighted there. Through this investment conference, I call upon the investors to invest in the tourism infrastructure of the Far-West. ’

He stressed the need to take the private sector into confidence for the investment summit and focus on resolving legal hurdles and formulating investment-friendly policies to create an environment for investment. Minister Pandey also informed that the budget has been allocated to establish an office of Nepal Tourism Board in the Far-West this year for the development of tourism in the far-west.

Sudurpaschim State Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah said the state government was eager to welcome the private sector for investment. “We want to identify the possibilities of the Far-West at the national and international level through the investment summit,” he said. For this, the government is committed to guarantee the legal and investment security required for investment to the private sector in the country. ’

Chief Minister Shah called for participation in the investment summit and studying the possibilities there. Dhangadhi: An investment summit is going to be held in Dhangadhi on November 15 and 15. In this context, the state government is holding discussions with various agencies for investment in different sectors, he added.

On the occasion, Member of The State Policy and Planning Commission Nrip Bahadur Sunar and Investment and Development Conference Project Expert Dilip Bhatta made a presentation on tourism potential and investment environment situation in the Far-West on behalf of the Far-Western Government. In the interaction, Hotel Association President Binayak Shah said that there is a lot of potential for investment in the far-western region and stressed the need of creating an environment for investment.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Deepak Raj Joshi stressed the need to move ahead in an integrated manner for the development of tourism in the Far-West.

General Secretary of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) Yubika Raj Bhandari, Vice President of Nepal Mountaineering Association Thakur Raj Pandey, Executive Director of Siddhartha Hotel and Group of Companies Krishna Neupane, General Secretary of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) Ram Prasad Sedhai, President of Tourism Committee of Confederation of Nepalese Industries Pampha Dhamala, General Secretary of Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA) Devraj Joshi and chiefs and representatives of tourism related bodies were present. ।

On the occasion, chiefs and representatives of tourism-related bodies suggested that the government should identify necessary policies and investment areas even though they were ready to invest in the Far-West.

Recently, the government has made mountaineering of far-western and Karnali provinces free of cost for two years. It was informed that the upgradation of Dhangadhi Airport and construction of Kanchanpur Airport are in the final stage. In the discussion, the Far-West is also a region with tourism potential from the religious point of view and called for investment.