The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu organized India-Nepal Startup Connect to bring together the start-up ecosystems of the two countries in association with the Confederation of Nepalese Industries Young Entrepreneurs Forum (CNIYEF).
The event focused on fostering connections between India and Nepal's startup ecosystems. The event celebrated 75 years of India-Nepal diplomatic relations as well as 75 years of India's independence. The Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari was the Chief Guest at the event. Addressing the inaugural session, the Ambassador of India to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava highlighted India's G20 Presidency and Nepal's participation in the Finance Track of the G20 during India's presidency.
"This year is a special year for us, it's the 75th year of India's independence and also, the 75th year of the Nepal-India diplomatic relationship. This year is also important as India is also heading the G20 forum, as you know it is a group of the 20 largest economies of the world. Under G20 chairmanship, India has put a special emphasis on promoting digital public goods," Ambassador Srivastava said addressing the event.
At the event, Adhikari elaborated on the theme of Digital Nepal and spoke about the year 2023 being Nepal's Digital Payment Promotion Year. He called for greater collaboration on fin-tech between India and Nepal, identifying cross-border payments and QR payments as possible areas of cooperation.
"The focus area of this event, Startup connect is very much consistent with the vision of the Government of Nepal for having envisioned Digital Nepal which has been formulated "Digital Nepal 2020" with the goal of having an economically prosperous digital society. This is being contributed by with priority of Nepal Rastra Bank for having an emphasis on digital financial services and celebrating this year 2022-23 as digital payment promotion year," Governor Adhikari said.
(ANI)