UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Remarks at the Nepal Investment Summit Day 1 Plenary Session 1 “Exploring Investment Opportunities in Nepal” – Nepal

Honorable Finance Minister Mr. Barsha Man Pun

Fellow panelists

Delegates,

Namaste and a wonderful afternoon to all of you!

Dear delegates.

I think between the presentations of this morning and now everything has been
covered so I want to highlight the three Ps: People, Planet and Partnership for
Peace and Prosperity.

That is what the member states have committed to through the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. And these three Ps, I believe, provide immense
opportunities for investment in Nepal.

First, always the People.

Nepal has a very young population. About 41 percent of Nepalis are between
ages 16 and 40. These are young people, with muscle and brain power, bursting
with energy and innovative solutions. This unique demographic dividend is a
crucial window of opportunity for Nepal, that begs to be tapped with great
urgency!

Tapping into this demographic dividend means increasing investment in health,
education, frontier technology, and digital transformation. To unlock this
potential, we must invest even more women, girls and marginalized
communities and increase their access to Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics. It may also entail removing barriers for their access to business
and employment opportunities. Removing such barriers could also mean there
will be more women represented in every sphere including our speakers in this
summit.

I couldn’t help but notice the negligent participation of women as presenters and
speakers in this meeting. But I hope for the next one we will have much more
women.

My second point is about the planet. I need not tell you about the potential in
this fantastic country.

Trees cover nearly half of this beautiful country. Himalayan glaciers provide
fresh water, as well as the potential to generate an estimated 40,000 megawatts
of hydroelectricity by the rivers downstream. As previous speakers highlighted,
these natural resources provide investment opportunities.

However, we must make every effort to ensure that financial flows are used to
uplift, rather than undermine, the environment, biodiversity and human lives.
What these investments should do is to contribute to offset carbon, accelerate
the transition to sustainable energy, and lead to a green economy. These
investments should contribute to limiting the rise in global temperature to
1.5°C. and help to achieve net zero.

Yes, these investments will be higher up front, due to the need for investment in
frontier technologies and innovation. However, these will ensure a livable planet
not just for our generation but those generations who will eventually inherit this
planet. This will be one of the issues that the Summit of the Future will also be
focusing on in New York this September.

And this brings me to my third point, that is Partnership for sustainable
development.

Nepal can explore new blended finance approaches that can crowd in private
sector, multiply developmental impact and create opportunity for public sector
to share risks and rewards fairly. This way, public and private finance together
help augment private investments, especially in high risk and low return areas.
Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Development Financial Institutions
(DFIs), Private Development Banks (PDBs), and development cooperation
agencies can work even closer with private partners to leverage resources.
Each of these transitions requires engagement of multiple policy reforms
spanning economic, social and environmental dimensions. With the recent effort
to amend laws, the government is demonstrating a strong commitment to
improving the investment environment.

United Nations stands with the people of Nepal. The world must do the same.
As Nepal prepares for LDC Graduation in 2026, we will continue to work with
the Investment Board Nepal and concerned ministries to help increase the flow
of sustainable investments in the country. We will continue to support the
development of a strong business ecosystem with a vision for sustainable,
inclusive, and green economy.

To conclude, I would like to reiterate our commitment to take our future
generations into account. This need not come at the expense of those currently
living. With advances in science, humanities and technology, we have an
enormous opportunity that can be harnessed for the good of all generations of
Nepalis.

Dhanyabaad!