Kathmandu. Export entrepreneurs have stressed that the government and the private sector should immediately start preparing to convert the challenges that may arise after Nepal being upgraded from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status to an opportunity. They said that although the deadline for the upgrade has been extended, it should be utilized as the additional time available for preparation to promote exports, improve the quality of production and expand the access of Nepali goods to the international market.

The government officials and representatives of the private sector participated in the national dialogue on ‘Upgrading Nepal’s LDC: Challenges and Opportunities of Export-Oriented Enterprises’ organized by Federation of Export Entrepreneurs Nepal (FFIN) and supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO) at Hotel Himalayan in Kupandole, Lalitpur on Thursday.

Referring to Nepal’s demand for three years to extend the deadline for upgrading from LDC, the participants said that instead of postponing the preparations, they should move ahead in a planned manner from now on. They also stressed on the need to effectively implement the policies and programs brought by the government for export promotion and industrial development.

In the program, the government was urged to give priority to the implementation of the policy, to solve the practical problems faced by the private sector and to create an export-friendly environment. The participants concluded that priority should be given to the capacity development of small and medium export-oriented enterprises, reducing the cost of production, increasing productivity and improving the quality.

Chief of the United Nations and Specialized Bodies Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Krishna Prasad Dhakal, said the government’s priority was to make the private sector competitive in the international market.

Chief of Economic Diplomatic Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mani Ratna Sharma, said that Nepali diplomatic missions abroad were working by preparing action plan for export promotion.

President of Federation of Export Entrepreneurs Nepal, Govinda Prasad Ghimire, stressed on reducing the cost of production, improving the quality, increasing productivity and developing competitive capacity keeping in mind the challenges that Nepali products may face in the international market after upgrading. He stressed the need to increase the capacity of Nepali products to compete in the international market.

Prakash Sharma, National Project Coordinator of the International Labour Organization’s LDC Upgradation Project, said that the upgradation should be taken not only as a challenge but also as an opportunity and preparations for it should be started immediately. FINN Senior Vice President Devanand Sarawagi said that even if the deadline for the upgradation has been extended, there should be no delay in the preparation. He said that the extended time will be utilized only if the work can be done in a planned manner from now on.

In the program, Dr. Paras Kharel, Executive Director, South Asian Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Paras Kharel gave a presentation with statistics on ‘LDC Upgrade: Opportunities, Challenges and Impact of Export-Oriented Small and Medium Enterprises’. In the panel discussion that followed, representatives of government agencies and private sector shared their views on the impact, challenges and potential opportunities that the upgrade can have on export-oriented enterprises.

In the open discussion and interactive session, the participants exchanged views on the existing problems, possibilities and future course of action in the export sector. The discussion concluded that immediate initiatives should be taken for effective implementation of government policies and programs, coordination between the government and the private sector, capacity building of export entrepreneurs and expanding access to the international market.

Executive Director of FINN, Ramsudan Timalsina, said that the event concluded with a message that the government and private sector should work together for the development of the export sector by forging common understanding about the challenges and opportunities related to Nepal’s LDC upgrade.