Kathmandu, Aug. 16
Representatives of the Non-Resident Nepali
Association (NRNA) have said they remain keen to invest in Nepal but identified
two major obstacles - cumbersome legal procedures and concerns over investment
security.
Speaking at the 11th Asia-Pacific Regional
Conference of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) that concluded in
Guangzhou of China on Sunday, they said that Nepalis living across the
Asia-Pacific region, as well as in the United States and Europe wanted to do
something in Nepal but were primarily discouraged by the lengthy legal
processes and security concerns they faced when investing in the country.
Former NRNA president Binod Kunwar, who is
a successful businessman based in South Korea, said Nepal's tendency to engage
in more talks than action was also a problem. He said investors were
discouraged by cumbersome legal procedures and prolonged delays, the NRNA
informed in a statement.
“I am investing equally in Nepal and South
Korea. My experience is that there is too much talk and too little work in
Nepal,” Kunwar said while adding that Nepal's laws sometimes prevented people
from working for even four or five hours, making investment in the country
unnecessarily difficult.
Former NRNA president Dr. Upendra Mahato
said every Nepali living abroad was concerned about when their country would
develop, while many also asked themselves, “If I don't do it, who will?” He
urged the government to turn this sentiment into an opportunity.
According to him, Nepal will be built by
Nepalis themselves. "If a country could be developed through good and
sweet words alone, it would have been developed long ago. We Nepalis are good
at talking,” he said. “Now we need to develop the country while preserving our
civilisation. This is the one commitment we all need to make.”
Dr. Mahato said that the investment by the
NRNs alone cannot make Nepal prosperous, but it cannot happen without them
either. The government must now understand this reality and introduce
investor-friendly laws. There should be no delay in the legal reforms required
for restructuring, he said.
Arguing that there was no better place for
investment than Nepal, Mahato said every country in the world faced problems,
but the key was how those problems were addressed and how investment was
protected.
NRNA Senior Vice-President Rabin Sherchan
said there were many areas for investment in Nepal, while some new sectors also
needed to be identified, adding that investment should now be increased.
Former NRNA China president Nirmal Sharma
Chaulagain said there was considerable scope for cooperation between Nepal and
China but that inadequate infrastructure remained a major obstacle. He said
they could currently supply goods to Nepal through the northern border points
for only about six months a year and that industrialists suffered substantial
losses when goods were left at border points for extended periods because the
government failed to develop infrastructure on time.
Similarly, former NRNA China president
Rohit Agrawal said every investment needed to be linked to profitability and
that this required legal guarantees.
“In Nepal, legal complications and
prolonged problems are constantly cited, making investors wonder whether or not
to bring their investment into the country,” he said. “I invested in a
hydropower project, but I do not know when it will start generating electricity,
while I am already bearing losses.”
Arun Kumar Subedi, who has been researching
investment issues, said NRNA investment would not come to Nepal as long as the
existing system and laws allowed government officials to focus on finding ways
to obstruct investors rather than providing the facilities they needed to
invest and operate their businesses.
He added that the income of Nepalis living
abroad was more than three times Nepal's GDP, and the country needed to benefit
from this resource.
Roshan Khanal, acting ambassador of Nepal
to China, said the embassy would provide support if potential investment areas
were properly identified. She said 61 per cent of Nepalis who have achieved
success in business while living in China had expressed to her their desire to
return to Nepal.
Demand for citizenship continuation
Meanwhile, the NRNA has once again renewed
its demand for the continuation of Nepali citizenship by descent for Nepalis
and people of Nepali origin living abroad.
The conference reiterated the NRNA's
long-standing call to put the concept of ‘Once a Nepali, always a Nepali’ into
practice. Participants stressed that non-resident Nepalis should not be viewed
merely as a community that sends remittances, but as partners in Nepal's
economic, social and overall development, according to the NRNA.
NRNA President Dr. Hemraj Sharma said that
whenever the expectations of non-resident Nepalis are discussed, issues such as
citizenship, voting rights, British Gurkhas and people of Nepali origin who are
foreign nationals (PNOs) inevitably arise.
According to him, the major common demand
of Nepalis living in 110 countries is the continuation of citizenship by
descent.
Dr. Sharma said Nepal needed an umbrella
law covering all these groups. Rather than addressing citizenship issues in
isolation, he argued that a comprehensive legal framework should be developed
to resolve the problems faced by non-resident Nepalis.
NRNA chief patron and former president Dr. Badri
KC said non-resident Nepalis who send substantial amounts of remittances to
Nepal are still having to fight for their citizenship rights.
He said Nepalis and people of Nepali origin
who have achieved success in education, business and various other fields
abroad, particularly the younger generation, want to return to Nepal and
contribute to the country. Nepal should therefore create an environment in
which their knowledge, skills, capital and experience can be utilised, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhishmaraj
Angdembe, parliamentary party leader of the main opposition Nepali Congress,
said the focus should now shift from emotional appeals to integrating the
diaspora as a partner in Nepal's development.
He said citizenship should not become a
major obstacle preventing the diaspora from maintaining links with Nepal. The
government should take the initiative, he said while adding that other
political parties, including the opposition, were also ready to cooperate.
Ain Mahar, chief whip of the CPN-UML, said
he was positive about providing non-resident Nepalis with a dignified Nepali
identity. “Let the government initiate the process, we are ready for
discussions,” he said.
Likewise, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)
lawmaker Manish Jha said the government was preparing to address some of the
demands of non-resident Nepalis, including citizenship.
Jha said he had been discussing the
citizenship issue with Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Foreign Minister
Shisir Khanal, and that the issue remained a government priority.
Published in The Rising Nepal on 17 August 2026.
