The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has appealed to the international business community to explore investment possibilities in Nepal, highlighting the conclusion of the long political transition in the country.

Addressing the 107th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva on Thursday, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, chairperson of Employers Council and vice chairperson of the FNCCI said, “This year, we have several encouraging aspects that will definitely contribute to promoting employment, industrial relations and productivity for national economic growth in Nepal.”

He added, “It is exciting to share that we have a newly elected government in place at federal, provincial and local levels. It is a great sign of political stability.” He said that Nepal has several potential areas such as tourism, agriculture, infrastructure development, mining and cement, information technology, hydropower including production and services sectors for investment.

“Legal reform for labour market governance is another significant achievement that we made recently in our common understanding. We have revised Labour Act and developed contributions based Social Security Act which is key milestone for promoting industrial relation and workplace cooperation,” he said. “We are strongly committed to contributing to the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals particularly on decent work and economic growth.”

Dhakal said that the FNCCI would be restructured in line with new governance system. “For this, we will need further capacity to address industrial relations, enterprise promotion and job creation. In order to address the need of skilled manpower, we would like to provide market based training for our young people entering into the labour market,” he said, adding that ILO’s technical and financial support in this area would be a great support for FNCCI.