KATHMANDU, Dec 11: Nirmal Kajee Shrestha has been elected the president of the American Chambers of Commerce Nepal (AmCham), an umbrella organization of businesses operated in Nepal with American investment.

With the completion of the two-year term of the founding President Ajit Bikram Shah, the second Annual General Meeting (AGM) of AmCham held on Sunday in Kathmandu unanimously elected a new working committee under the leadership of Shrestha, who is the Chief Executive Officer of MetLife, American Life Insurance Company Nepal.

An upcoming meeting of the AmCham Board of Directors will nominate the Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.

Likewise, other members elected to the working committee include Kailash Raj Bijayananda of Leapfrog Technology, Ashim Man Singh Basnyat of Pathao Nepal, Aakash Golchha of Go Ford, Manish Thapa of Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited, Samarth Mogha of Mogha Energy and Sneh Rajbhandari of Bottlers Nepal Limited.

Appreciating the contribution of Shah in the establishment of AmCham, the organization has nominated Shah as an Honorary Member of the Board as the Founding Chairman. Likewise, Semanta Dahal of Abhinav Law Chambers will also be included in the working committee as an Honorary Member.

Shrestha said that he has energetic officials and members in the leadership team and will work to promote organizational as well business interests.

"Necessary initiatives will be taken to bring in foreign investments with priority in energy, tourism and information technology sectors. We will organize and participate in various conferences related to investment and enterprise in Nepal and other countries so that we could promote Nepal as an investment destination in those markets," he said.

Nepal's AmCham is the 130th in the global network of American Chamber of Commerce and is considered instrumental in promoting trade with the USA and inviting investment from there.

The AGM unanimously approved the financial and annual progress report presented by the treasurer and secretary of the previous working committee. The AGM was facilitated by Executive Officer of AmCham Secretariat, Amir Raj Thapa.

Achievements of Shah's tenure:

The establishment of AmCham was aimed at organizing the scattered businesses and entrepreneurs. During the two-year tenure of the founder president Shah, 45 businesses have joined the organizations so far.

Likewise, within two years of the establishment, AmCham obtained the accreditation from the American Chamber of Commerce of the USA, the country with an economy 800 times bigger than that of Nepal. This is an important achievement of Shah's tenure, and it has further increased the possibility of American investment in Nepal.

Similarly, AmCham has been conducting 'Membership Learning Series' to promote the business of entrepreneurs associated with the organization which has provided an opportunity to network, fellowship and closely understand each other's business and collaborate among them.

On the initiative of the AmCham, discussions have been held between businesspersons who have brought American investment into Nepal and representatives of various agencies of the Government of Nepal. According to the association, it has played a major role in improving the investment environment in the country.

Shah said that they are moving ahead with business partnership with USAID and various organizations. He also informed that in June 2024, private companies of Nepal will participate in the programme related to investment and enterprise in the United States and in December, representatives of the private sector of the United States will be invited to Nepal for a program. For this, AmCham plans to move forward by forging collaboration with other organizations.

 
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