The 16th Nepal-China’s Economic and Trade Fair was inaugurated in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of the People’s Republic of China on 25 October 2018. The Fair was jointly inaugurated by Mr. Madhu Kumar Marasini, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of the Government of Nepal and H. E. Ms. Luo Mei, Vice Chairperson of the TAR Government in the exhibition hall of the Intercontinental Hotel of Lhasa. The Nepal-China’s Tibet Economic and Trade Fairs are alternately organized by the Governments of Nepal and TAR every two years in their respective territories, the present one being the 16th in the series.
Speaking in the opening ceremony of the Fair, Mr. Marasini, the chief of the Nepali delegation for the Fair, highlighted the importance of the Fair for promoting trade and business between Nepal and China’s Tibet, as well as fostering people-to-people and business to business contacts. Quoting the recent statistics of bilateral trade between Nepal and China, he mentioned that Nepal occupies a meager 1.5% in the total bilateral trade. In light of this huge trade deficit of Nepal with respect to China, he hoped that such Fairs will be helpful for Nepal in achieving trade balance with China. He also called on Chinese investors and entrepreneurs to scale up their investment in Nepal, while expressing satisfaction on the growing foreign investment from China. He thanked the TAR Government for successfully holding the Fair.
H. E. Ms. Luo Mei, the Vice Chairperson of the TAR Government, expressed happiness on organizing the Fair. She also underscored the importance of enhancing connectivity and further promoting trade and commercial ties between China and Nepal.
A total of 59 Nepali enterprises representing handicrafts, carpets, ornaments, herbal products and 103 enterprises from TAR, China are participating in the Fair. The Fair will run for 5 days from 25 October 2018 to 29 October 2018.
Consulate General of Nepal, Lhasa
October 25, 2018