President of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal and UN Resident Coordinator to Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia held discussions on the challenges Nepal may face following its graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, as well as employment generation, investment promotion, export expansion, youth entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.
President Agrawal said Nepal should view LDC graduation not merely as an achievement but as the beginning of a new phase of economic transformation. He stressed the need to immediately prepare for possible impacts on trade preferences, concessional financing and other facilities following graduation.
He emphasized the need for a post LDC competitiveness and export strategy focused on productivity, quality, standards, infrastructure, market access and export competitiveness. He also sought necessary technical and policy support from the United Nations to help Nepal address the challenges associated with LDC graduation.
Agrawal said Nepal’s large youth population is a major strength for economic development and stressed the need to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities within the country. He said Nepal should gradually move away from excessive dependence on remittances and transition toward a production, investment and export led economy. He also sought UN support for generating productive employment in manufacturing, tourism, information technology, agriculture, hydropower, construction and services.
Highlighting the importance of youth entrepreneurship and startups, Agrawal called for stronger industry-academia collaboration, market-oriented skills development and greater emphasis on vocational education.
He also emphasized the need to develop mechanisms to mobilize private capital, blended finance and impact investment through UN agencies to support private investment and development finance in Nepal. He called for greater public-private partnership in infrastructure, energy, tourism, digital services, health and education.
Agrawal said international climate finance and green investment should be mobilized to expand investment in the green economy, electric mobility, renewable energy and hydropower. He also called for cooperation in developing Nepal as a year-round, high-value tourism destination through sustainable tourism, digital tourism, destination branding and tourism infrastructure.
For achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agrawal stressed the need for stronger cooperation among the government, private sector, civil society and citizens. He proposed establishing a mechanism for regular engagement between the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations, including an annual forum for discussion on SDG related issues. He also sought UN technical assistance to develop reliable data on investment, employment, productivity, exports and SMEs.
Agrawal said Nepal must transform from a remittance-dependent economy into a production-, investment- and export-oriented economy and emphasized that the private sector should be recognized not merely as an implementing partner but as a strategic development partner. He also stressed the need to turn Nepal’s young population into a demographic dividend rather than a source of migration pressure.
Likewise, UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia said the suggestions put forward by the Nepal Chamber were important and expressed her willingness to maintain regular dialogue and cooperation with the private sector. She said regular consultations among the Nepal Chamber, other private-sector federations and the United Nations every two to three months could be useful. She also suggested that development partners, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, could be invited to such discussions when appropriate.
On LDC graduation, Yahia stressed that Nepal now needs to move seriously toward implementing a transition strategy. She said a task force involving the government, private sector and relevant stakeholders could be formed to coordinate and implement a smooth transition strategy, with the United Nations ready to provide support.
She emphasized that LDC graduation is ultimately Nepal’s responsibility, while the United Nations can provide support and facilitation. She also stressed the need for the private sector to engage actively with the government in implementing the transition strategy.
Yahia said Nepal needs to strengthen its commercial and judicial systems, adopt international standards, improve commercial laws and enhance institutional capacity to attract foreign investment. She noted that Nepal still has significant groundwork to do to become a competitive destination for international investors.
On youth employment, she said Nepal has a limited window of opportunity to capitalize on its young population and should focus on expanding employment and productive economic activities in the coming years. She suggested that Nepal give greater priority to small and medium sized enterprises, startups, creative industries, women’s entrepreneurship and leadership development.
Yahia also highlighted the potential to connect Nepal’s rich cultural heritage and tourism resources with creative industries to generate new employment and export opportunities. She suggested that Nepal could learn from the experiences of countries such as Morocco and Uzbekistan.
She further said the Nepali diaspora could serve as an important channel for attracting foreign investment. Connecting successful Nepalis living abroad with investment opportunities, technology, skills and business networks in Nepal could also help attract other international investors, she noted.
The meeting emphasized the need to further strengthen regular dialogue and cooperation between the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations in areas including economic transformation, LDC graduation, youth entrepreneurship, investment mobilization, sustainable development and greater institutional participation of the private sector.