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Date: Friday, January 12, 2007 Venue: The Everest Hotel, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu Business Session As the quorum for the meeting was adequate, the business session was commenced by the President Mr. Mahendra Krishna Shrestha at 4:00 pm as scheduled. He welcomed all the members to the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber. 1. In his opening remarks, President Mr. Shrestha stated that the current challenges that the country is facing are enormous and multidimensional. He mentioned that the year 2006 had been a critical one for the country, noting that major political changes took place along with bandhs, industrial unrest etc. Upon this background, the Chamber could not carry out as many programs as planned. He however stressed that the Chamber was committed to assisting its members as much as possible for their business interests. In this context, he mentioned that the Chamber played at active role in the Industrial Security Group during the past year and that it would continue to do so in future too. Similarly, the Chamber would also try to seek ways of promoting bilateral trade with the UK in the coming year. He thanked all the members for supporting the Chamber despite the hard times, noting that the number of active members had remained constant, and hoped that the future would be better for all. He added that it is at the same time very important that we receive regular suggestions from the members on how to increase the activities of the chamber. He then requested Vice President Mr. Sonny Shrestha to present the Annual Report. 2. Mr. Sonny Shrestha, V P (Secretariat) presented the Annual Report for the year 2062-63. The President asked members if they had any questioned; if not, he requested that it be approved. The Annual Report was unanimously approved as read. The President then requested Vice President Mr. Ramesh P. Shrestha to present the final accounts for the year 2062~63. 3. Mr. Ramesh P. Shrestha Vice President (Finance) presented the Audited Annual Financial Report of the Chamber for the year 2062-63. Mr. Ramesh Khetan stated that, since the income of the Chamber was mainly based on membership subscription and interest on term deposits, it had to look at organizing more activities and increasing the membership base. He also queried why the communication expenses increased in comparison to last year, to which VP Mr. Shrestha replied that the Chamber had to bear these costs on its own, now that it had moved out of the embassy premises. The President asked members if they had any questioned; if not, he requested that it be approved. The Final Accounts was unanimously approved as read. 4. President Mr. Shrestha thereafter proposed M/s Deoki Bijay & Company as the auditors for the year 2063-64. The proposal was unanimously approved as proposed. He then requested Mr. Paul Bute, DHM British Embassy and Permanent Observer of the Chamber to share his views with the members on the present situation. 5. Mr. Paul Bute, DHM British Embassy and Permanent Observer of the Chamber mentioned that UK was very much interested in the development and stability of Nepal, adding that UK would assist Nepal by supporting the UN initiative, providing logistic and financial support to stabilize the conditions in the cantonments, supporting Nepal Police to strengthen itself and supporting the Election Commission in monitoring the election process. He stressed that UK was putting its efforts and focus on stability. President Mr. Shrestha thanked Mr. Bute for his views. 6. The President then opened the meeting for suggestions and comments from the floor. He presented to the meeting a written note submitted by member Mr. Bishnu P. Shrestha (letter attached) and noted that it was very encouraging that such suggestions were made, adding that the Chamber would strive to incorporate them in the coming year’s activities. Mr. Ramesh Khetan suggested that more members should be incorporated into various committees so that there would be more interaction and members would be more pro-active. He also added that the members should be aware of the decisions taken by the Executive Committee and that a far and efficient ways of communicating with the members should be looked into. Mr. Joydeb Chakroborty mentioned that email would be the best and fastest way of distributing such information. The President thanked the members for their suggestion and stated that the secretariat would look into these issues. He then requested IPP Mr. Rajendra Khetan to present the concluding remarks. 7. Immediate Past President, Mr. Rajendra K. Khetan mentioned that the Nepali business community was a victim in the present situation. He brought to the notice of all present the various letters of demands written by the political parties and their affiliates to the business community and stated that there was no co-ordination between the leadership and their cadre. He requested the international community to look into this issue of industrial unrest and arm twisting very seriously as the business community was totally demoralized. He added that the coming weeks were going to be very volatile. Lastly, he requested all the members to be more pro-active. 8. President, Mr. Shrestha thanked IPP Mr. Khetan for his remarks. He also thanked all the office bearers, executive committee members and the general members for their commendable contributions and support. He further assured that the chamber will continue to work for its members’ interests in future and requested the members to be more proactive. As no other matters remained for discussion, he concluded the business session of the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber. CEREMONIAL SESSION The ceremonial session of the 11th AGM of NBCCI was held at 5:45 PM as scheduled Foreign dignitaries, officials of HMG/Nepal, members, representatives from other Bi-national Chamber of Commerce & Industry, representatives from INGOs, prominent businessmen, guests, and press & media journalists were among those present. President Mr. Mahendra K. Shrestha welcomed the Honorable Chief Guest, HE Dr. Andrew Hall and honorable guest of honor Mr. Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies by presenting them with bouquet of flowers. Ms. Sandhya R. Shrestha, Master of Ceremony, welcomed all present and requested the President to deliver his welcome address. 1. President Mr. Shrestha first extended warm welcome to all present and thanked both the Chief Guest and Guest of Honor for agreeing to grace the occasion. He mentioned that Nepal was going through a very critical phase and stated that all stakeholders must work towards creating a congenial atmosphere for business to operate and grow. He also mentioned that easier mobility of business people between the two countries was necessary for growth of business relations and said that we should look for a mechanism for easier access to visa for genuine Nepali businessmen. He also appreciated the support of members towards the Chamber. (full text attached). 2. Honorable Chief Guest, HE Dr. Andrew Hall thereafter formally inaugurated the session by lighting the lamp after which he delivered his address. He touched upon the British-Nepal historical relations and expressed the commitment of UK for a better Nepal. He stressed on the need for protection of individual rights and rights to business and urged the business community to make its voice heard. He ended by saying that the coming year must be a year of opportunities seized. (full text attached) 3. Next, Guest of Honor, Mr. Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies, in his address, mentioned the age old relations between UK and Nepal and added that the rising trend of joint ventures was encouraging, for which people to people contact was necessary. He reiterated the government’s policy to give high priority to trade and commerce in a liberal environment. He mentioned that the role of the government would be more as facilitator and urged the business community to develop the tourism sector. He also encouraged the business community to use Nepal as a facilitator of business between India and China. He added that, with cheap labour costs in Nepal, it would lead to lesser establishment costs for business in Nepal. Lastly, he stated that the government was committed to stable law and order situation in the country. 4. Mr. Ashish K. Sengupta, Sr. Vice President of the chamber then presented the vote of thanks. He mentioned that the business community has to be treated as an integral part of new Nepal, adding that this requires a change of mindset. He then thanked the Chief Guest, Guest of Honor, the media and all those present for their support and cooperation. (full text attached) 5. The President thereafter concluded the ceremonial session of the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber. |
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