Govt committed to bring out policies to facilitate businesses: PM Oli

Jewellery Expo Begun

Kathmandu, May 20: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli Friday expressed his commitment to formulate required policies and amend existing laws to create business environment and facilitate business activities.

Inaugurating Nepal International Gems and Jewellery Expo 2016 at Hotel Yak and Yeti, PM Oli assured that the government was ready to join hands with the private sector to develop the gems and jewellery business.

"The government will do whatever necessary to promote this business and market our products in the international market. We are for the quality development of the business," stated the PM.

He said that the government was expediting development works in every sector and urged one and all to assist in that endeavour.

"There are some people who don't want to see the country developed and be self-dependent. Government wants to run and people who look on standing can't realize the gravity of the matter," he said.

Som Prasad Pandey, Minister for Industry, urged the gold, silver and gem entrepreneurs for innovations in their products. "If we want to export our products to the international market, our products should have quality and innovative design."

He informed that the government had declared a moratorium on gemstone export to study the sector and find ways to enhance the quality of the products.

The export would resume after the provision of necessary policies, he said.

Ramesh Maharjan, coordinator of the Expo Main Organizing Committee, who is also President of Nepal Gem and Jewellery Promotion Council, expressed his concerns towards the increasing import-export gap. "The import-export ration has reached 9:1. Jewellery sector can play an important role in reducing this gap as it has a high export potential."

He informed that 59 national and international companies, including Indian Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and Gemological Institute of America, are participating in the expo.

Maharjan said that the expo would help to expose Nepalese indigenous, diverse and unique jewelleries and handicraft products to the national and international consumers and traders.

Pashupati Murarka, president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to remove policy hurdles that were hindering business environment.

Similarly, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, asked for incentives for the business sector and demanded that it should be announced in the budget of the Fiscal Year 2016/17.

Mani Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, said that the gem and jewellery business was one of the largest employers in the country. "But, we are always running short of skilled workers. Most of the workers in this sector are from India. The government should help us in establishing a training institute in order to produce skilled jewellery artists in the country."