Ministers, senior government officials, and business leaders of both the countries will participate in the event.
Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) -- a Nepal-based think tank -- is hosting the forum with the cooperation of the Embassy of Bangladesh in Kathmandu to attract investments.
“Since the promulgation of the new constitution, Nepalis are suffering from various problems and our economy is totally affected. We felt Nepal has to engage with its neighboring country Bangladesh for import and export and for attracting foreign direct investment in hydropower projects and hospitality sector,” Sunil KC, founder of AIDIA, said.
Nepal is also in reconstruction phase after the devastating earthquake that ravaged the country in April last year. “This is the right time for Nepal to make Bangladesh a second major trading partner after India,” he added.
Several of Nepal's incumbent and former ministers, including the Minister for Commerce, will attend the forum along with the country's business leaders. Bangladesh's commerce secretary and chamber leaders, including the president of the apex business body FBCCI, are also expected to join the forum.
Officials of AIDIA said that their plan is to make the forum an annual event to promote bilateral trade, business and investment.
Nepal and Bangladesh enjoy close diplomatic relations. Nepal is also a tourist destination for Bangladeshis. But bilateral trade has not grown much.
Last year, trade between the two countries was worth about $38 million. The new Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal motor vehicle agreement is expected to open a new era of doing business.
Nepal is looking for investments for generating employment. “As Bangladesh is becoming a logistic hub in Asia due its own business characteristics, Nepal can benefit from it because of its geographical proximity,” KC said, adding that it is the first such bilateral business forum to take place in
Kathmandu to promote trade between any two countries. "This forum will create more business opportunities."
There will be 'business to business' and 'business to government' meetings apart from several sessions at the forum.
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