Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has assured stakeholders that the government is committed to creating a more conducive environment for private investment, stating that efforts are underway to restore business confidence, though visible results will take time.

Speaking at the Kantipur Economic Summit 2025, titled “Face-to-Face with the finance minister”, Paudel said the government has already initiated a series of legal and policy reforms, including the amendment of over two dozen laws via ordinance. These steps, he argued, are part of a broader strategy to revitalise the economy and empower the private sector.

“We’ve taken initiatives to raise private sector morale, but I agree this alone is not enough—the outcomes are yet to be seen,” Paudel stated. “What we have done so far is only the first instalment of reform, not the final one.”

He added that many business leaders have appreciated the government’s willingness to listen and act. “Industrialists have personally met me and said the government is finally listening to the private sector’s problems. The ordinance is one concrete example of our commitment to solutions,” he said.

Paudel stressed that the government aims to enhance investor confidence and build a more enabling economic environment.

“The private sector will invest, you will create the production base. The government’s role is to support that, and we will continue doing so,” he said, hinting that further reforms would be announced in the upcoming federal budget, set to be unveiled on May 29.

Paudel also criticised the politicisation of social security programmes, saying they have expanded beyond sustainable limits due to competitive populism among political parties. He cautioned that such unchecked commitments have led to an unsustainable fiscal burden.

“We acted like competitors when it came to social security,” Paudel noted. “Instead of considering how much the state could actually afford, parties tried to outdo one another in promises.”

He stressed that Nepal must now adopt a more disciplined and realistic fiscal approach.

“The state’s obligations are unlimited, but our resources are not. We need to define state responsibilities in line with what our economy can handle,” he said.