The government, the private sector, and the United Nations in Nepal have stressed the need to mobilise sufficient development finance to achieve Nepal’s key development targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

During the ‘Financing for Development Dialogue: Nepal’s Road to the Summit of the Future’, organised by the United Nations Nepal in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nepal’s pertinent stakeholders in finance and development highlighted the need for additional investment to achieve sustainable development and accelerate structural transformation of the economy.

Speaking at the inauguration session, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel pointed out that in developing countries, a significant portion of revenue is spent on debt servicing, leaving little for development investment.

He emphasised that Nepal is no exception and called for collaboration between the government, private sector, and development partners to mobilise resources.

Four years after a series of global shocks – including the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and economic instability – the SDG financing gap for developing countries like Nepal has ballooned to USD 4 trillion annually. The financing gap and accompanying debt challenges have worsened poverty and inequality, putting the world off track to meet international targets set in 2015.

Also speaking, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, UN resident coordinator in Nepal, underlined that bold and decisive actions to strengthen economic foundations are needed as Nepal spearheads towards graduation from its Least Developed Country status.

Chandra Prasad Dhakal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, highlighted the need for efforts at all levels to mobilise investment for development, particularly in the context of declining foreign direct investment, revenue, and foreign aid.

He also mentioned that the federation has been organizing special programs to promote investment in Nepal and abroad and that a facilitation desk has been established to assist with foreign investment.