Asia Corporation tops the list of emerging startups in Nepal

Asia Corporation Private Limited topped the list of emerging startups in Nepal.
India’s leading Business magazine – CEO Insights – has published the list of ‘Top 10 Emerging Startups in Nepal-2020’, where Asia Corporation is placed in number one.
The Kathmandu based company – founded by Sunil KC, who leads a think tank -Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) – is providing large scale goods and commodities to public and private companies since its inception in 2017. Its services include industrial paper, photocopy paper, animal feeds, mosquito nets, chemical fertilizer, overhauled and maintenance services for helicopters and AI-related products, reads a press note from the magazine. “The company is also moving into technology-related products.”
“The Editorial board of CEO Insights has scrutinised the list via frequent deliberations by a renowned panel of industry’s topmost CEOs, directors, VCs, and industry analysts, throughout the year,” the magazine further writes, adding that evaluating the scenarios in versatile perceptions has brought CEO Insights to shortlist the startups which are creating a name for themselves through innovative business ideas, cutting-edge offerings, and unconditional customer support.
The magazine also writes that its objective behind publishing the list is to bring emerging startups in limelight and to guide individuals and businesses to partner with the Indian Companies as Indian companies are the major investors in Nepal and India’s first choice is Nepal for the investment destination.

Top 10 Emerging Startups in Nepal - 2020
1. Asia Corporation
2. Hamro Technology
3. Himalayan Wonders
4. JATA Digital
5. Mapleyak
6. Mero Network
7. My Careers HR Solutions
8. Palm Mind
9. Sarvanam Software
10. Vidinterest

Urge to create a more connected and integrated region

Experts called for creating a more connected and integrated region.
Addressing the fourth edition of the Young Scholars’ Forum – organised by the Asian Confluence yesterday and today in Shillong, Meghalaya with collaboration with Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, Asian Center for Development, Bangladesh and Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs, Nepal (AIDIA) – secretary general at the BIMSTEC Secretariat ambassador Shahidul Islam urged the scholars to help bring together ideas, collaborations and action towards creating a more connected and integrated region.
Likewise, speaking at the forum that has the 'Engaging Youth to Re-envision the regional discourse and action on Water and Rivers: For Trade, Connectivity, Tourism, Livelihood and Climate Change Adaption' theme for this year, secretary at the North Eastern Council Ram Muivah said that the engagement of young minds is a key ingredient towards solving development challenges of the North East. He also highlighted the immense potential that the region has, particularly in terms of cross-border trade, tourism, water resources, and hordes of other sectors and connecting physically, culturally and intellectually will help North East region to be transformed from a land-locked to a water-linked land bridge.
Director general at the Indian Council of World Affairs ambassador TCA Raghavan, on the occasion, shared that scholarship is key to harness ideas, energies and faculties from young minds of the region towards a more connected and prosperous region. "The minimal level of south-Asian intra-regional economic cooperation despite having abundance resources at its disposal," he stressed highlighting the significance of the connectivity-driven policy focus for enhancing regional cooperation. 
The forum came up with key ideas and directions for research and action agenda to be taken up by young scholars from across the region to influence the regional discourse on water and rivers. The forum also concluded that coalitions and tangible collaborations both within and across borders, based on fresh thinking, ideation and research by young minds is the key to create a change pathway that speaks to the needs of the countries and region. Involved and participatory thinking and action will help bring creative breakthroughs, which in turn will help find solutions to complex and layered problems of the region.

Kathmandu to host Nepal-India Think Tank Summit

The Nepal-India Think Tank Summit 2018 is going to take place in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Nepal Communist Party co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is inaugurating the summit jointly hosted by Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDA) and Nehru Memorial Museum Library, AIDIA CEO Sunil KC informed.
"India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s secretary general Ram Madhav is delivering a keynote speech," he said, adding that Nepal will – for the first time – address the need for greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Nepali and Indian think tanks, as well as the particular problem of bridging the gap between think tanks and policymakers in the region. "The summit is proposed to become an annual feature and will be hosted alternatively each year in Nepal and India."
Nepal Council of World Affairs, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Nepal Economic Forum (NEF), Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Observer Research Foundations (ORF), Institute for Défense Studies and Analyses, Vivekananda International Foundation, Nepal Institute for Strategic Studies (NISS), Centre for International Security (CIS), Gateway House, Brookings India, and Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies will be participating in the summit.
“The aim of the summit is to support the networks and promote mutual understanding through institutional collaboration on resources sharing among think tanks of the two countries, to facilitate cooperation and knowledge-sharing among think tanks, and to reflect on the work of think tanks and the challenges they are facing,” KC added. "
Policymakers, government representatives, diplomatic missions, academicians, business sectors and media personnel will engage in open and rational discourse to draw meaningful conclusions and recommendations at the summit."

Nepal-Bangladesh to jointly promote trade, tourism

Nepal and Bangladesh could promote trade and tourism jointly, according to a higher Bangladeshi official.
Addressing a Round Table Meeting on 'Nepal-Bangladesh Relations: Exploring Trade and Commerce', in Kathmandu today jointly organised by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) and Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh commerce secretary of Bangladesh Shubhashish Bose said that Nepal and Bangladesh could both develop a joint tourism package. "Both the countries can cooperate to formulate such policies that could offer a joint package to the tourists who can visit both the countries easily," he said
Saying that Nepal could be the chief exporter of commodities like tea, garlic, lentils, cardamom to Bangladesh, he also suggested that Export Function Bureau of Bangladesh and Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) of Nepal could sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to better facilitate trade and commerce between the two nations.
The visiting Bangladeshi commerce secretary Bose, on the occasion, said that both the nations need to cooperate to be self-reliant and support the South Asian market rather than wholly depend on their Western or European counterparts.
Likewsie, commerce secretary Chandra Kumar Ghimire, on the occasion, emphasised that the population of Nepal has great potential, if guided in the right direction and the utilisation of the demographic dividend will be in its full form if proper actions taken in the form of education and practice. He mentioned that partnership with our immediate neighbour like Bangladesh is necessary to achieve the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of Nepal to be 8 per cent in the next fiscal year. "Liberal policies are necessary regarding tariffs and connectivity," he said, mentioning the agendas like generation and export of hydropower sector in Nepal, tariff related issues, and preferential market access, Rohan Singbad route, simplification of pharmaceutical products, etc will be put into action.
He also expressed the need of trilateral cooperation between Nepal-India-Bangladesh to better facilitate trade and commerce.
Likewise, president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Hari Bhakta Sharma, on the occasion, wished to see the trade agreement happen between both the nations regarding the hydropower sector. He talked about the acute deficiency of infrastructure regarding tourism which needs to be developed to better enhance revenue from tourism industry. Sharma also suggested that there can be a common visa for Bangladeshi tourists to India and Nepal. He mentioned that a lot of things need to be done in future but the most important thing to be done is the immediate implementation of the decisions made.
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams concluded the round table, which aimed at discussing the possible trading arenas between the two countries focusing on connectivity through which trade between the two neighbouring countries can flourish and benefit both the parties, according to the organisers.