Princess Anne visits Nepal

Princess Anne paid a six days visit to Nepal starting November 23, 2000. During her trip, the Princess Royal spent most of her time visiting organisations engaged in social services throughout Nepal.
Apart from inaugurating the British Council's new building at Kathmandu, Princess Annevisited Ananda Ban Hospital in Lalitpur to meet leprosy patients, Maiti Nepal's Transit House and HIV/AIDS Hospital at Jhapa to meet young girls returned from Indian brothels, Beldangi, Damak to observe the Bhutanese refugee camp, Baglung District Hospital and Disabled Children's Education Project run by Save the Children, CWIN Drop-in Center for street children and other social programs at Pokhara.
"The promotion of bilateral trade will boost the traditional friendly relations between Nepal and Britain," said Princess Anne. She met with the Executive Committee of NBCCI at a reception hosted by HE Ronald P. Nash at his residence and appreciated the efforts made by the Chamber and the British Embassy in this direction.

5th Annual General Meeting Held Record Attendance By Members

The Fifth Annual General Meeting of the Chamber was held on October 20, 2000 at Hotel 
De L'Annapurna. It was attended by around 100 persons comprising of members of the Chamber, guests, press and media people and staff members.
The AGM was conducted in two sessions business session and ceremonial session.
The business session started at 4.15 PM with 
a welcome speech from the President 
Mr. Rajendra K. Khetan in which he briefed about the various activities of the Chamber and its future planning and upcoming events.
The General Secretary, Mr. Ashish K. Sengupta, proposed a motion for passing of the Annual Report, which was seconded by Mr. Sandeep Ghosh and passed unanimously.
The Treasurer, Mr. Ramesh Shrestha, presented the Annual Accounts of the Chamber for the year 2056-57 and proposed a motion to approve the same. It was seconded by Mrs. Prema Singh and approved unanimously. Mr. Sandeep Ghosh meanwhile suggested that,considering the surplus available with the Chamber, some sort of social welfare activity may be undertaken, like donating an ambulance.
Mrs. Prema Singh proposed the re-appointment of M/s B.K. Aggrawal & Co., Chartered Accountants as the Auditors of the Chamber for year 2057-58. It was seconded by Mr. A. K. Sengupta and passed unanimously.
The business session concluded with the summarization by the General Secretary and was followed by a tea break.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr. Tirtha Man Shakya inaugurated the ceremonial session by lighting the lamp.
In his speech, HE Mr. Ronald P. Nash, the British Ambassador, highlighted that British investors are keen to invest in Nepal, but the atmosphere is not that conducive due to increasing Maoist activities across the country. He said that industrialization process is a key for overall development but there is a need to expedite it and to promote the right environment for the same.
President of NBCCI, Mr. Rajendra K. Khetan said the economy was moving at a snail’s pace. He also agreed that both local and foreign investors were shying away from making any new investments in Nepal due the deteriorating law and order situation. He added that the business community has proposed to set up an ‘Industrial Security Force’ by mobilizing Nepal Police in a joint effort between the government and entrepreneurs. 
Mr. Pradeep K. Shrestha, President of FNCCI, said that tough days are ahead for the Nepalese private sector due to increased competition in the global markets. He added that we should be able to capitalize on new opportunities of the globalized world to improve business and economic environment of the country.
The AGM concluded with the Vote of Thanks by the General Secretary, Mr. A. K. Sengupta and was followed by cocktails and dinner at the pool side attended by around 110 members and invitees.