Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the government is committed to providing necessary assistance for the promotion and marketing of domestic goods produced using local raw materials with Nepali technology and skills.
Inaugurating the ‘Sixth International Women’s Trade Expo’ organized by the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal (FWEAN)) in Lalitpur Thursday, Prime Minister Deuba stressed the need of promoting and expanding the market for products produced by industries based on domestic skills and technology.
The five-day trade expo started with the slogan ‘Eat local, wear local and develop entrepreneurship’, showcasing various goods, including herbal goods, handicrafts items, and agricultural goods.
Local products from all seven provinces are on sale at the fair.
He said that exhibitions and fairs of goods and services produced by women entrepreneurs will help in export promotion and will support the protection and sustainable development of small and medium enterprises run by Nepali women.
“Women should pay special attention to earning foreign currency and create job opportunities through export promotion by utilizing raw materials and resources available within the country,” Prime Minister Deuba said. “I want to request everyone to support import substitution and export promotion by establishing industries based on domestic labor, skills, and raw materials.”
He said that the interaction between businessmen during the exhibition and the exchange of information related to import and export will also help in business cooperation, coordination, and expansion of relations between entrepreneurs and businessmen of other countries.
In the context of the growing number of businesses operated by women entrepreneurs globally, Nepali women entrepreneurs are also contributing not only to the household income but also to the national economy through enterprises and businesses, he said.
“I am happy to know that women entrepreneurs from remote districts, including Humla, Jumla, Darchula, Dadeldhura, and Taplejung participated and brought their products to exhibit in the expo,” said Prime Minister Deuba.
He appreciated the role played by the private sector in the economic development of the country citing that the contribution of the private sector is very important to make Nepal’s economy dynamic and create jobs by contributing to the growth of the country’s gross domestic product.
FWEAN president Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri said that the government and the private sector should cooperate to make the goods and services produced by women entrepreneurs using local raw materials, skills, technology, and experience international standards and market them.
“Materials made with low cost, local skills and capacity are artistic,” she said. “They can be exported to the international market by making them qualitative.”
She urged the government to pay attention to women entrepreneurs’ capacity building, financial management, and market promotion.
The trade fair is expected to help promote the skills and creations of women entrepreneurs and develop their identity both at home and abroad.
The fair will provide an opportunity to those visiting the stalls to observe and buy high-quality products of women entrepreneurs both from Nepal and various other countries, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, said the organizer.
Source : TRN,
