CII Excon 2019 will strengthen Nepal-India cooperation in infrastructure

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is conducting Excon 2019 – South Asia’s largest construction equipment trade fair  – in December.
The event  – from December 10 to 14 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, in India – is the the 10th edition that will demonstrate the role of smart technologies and next generation of construction equipment in accelerating the growth of infrastructure development in South Asian region.
FNCCI said this event is expected to strengthen Nepal-India cooperation in infrastructure sector in the future.
According to a press note issued by the FNCCI, over 1,250 exhibitors, including more than 350 overseas firms from 25 countries including China, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States will participate in the event.
With the theme of ‘Smart I-tech Next Gen India@75’ the five-day-long exhibition is expected to be receive footfall of around 70,000 business visitors from India and abroad, the press note reads.
As part of the 10th year celebrations of Excon, special activities like celebrating women in infrastructure, exclusive pavilions on artificial intelligence, robotics, start-ups, components and parts, job fairs, contest for school children, tree plantation besides green rating of industry, will be organised during the event.
“India is Nepal’s largest trade partner and the largest source of foreign investment, besides providing transit for almost entire third country trade of Nepal,” the press note further reads, adding that India accounts for over two thirds of Nepal’s merchandise trade, about one-third of trade in services, one-third of foreign direct investments, and a significant share of inward remittances on account of pensioners, professionals and workers working in India.

13th Godavari Flower Exhibition begins

The 13th Godavari Flower Exhibition kicked off today at Jawalakhel Football Ground in Lalitpur. The four-day exhibition is organised by Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN) targeting Tihar, the second biggest festival of Nepal also popularly known as festival of light and flowers.
Inaugurating the exhibition, agriculture minister Chakrapani Khanal expressed commitment to help promote commercial flower business. “The government is aware about the hurdles for the commercial flower businesses in the country,” he said, assuring that the government will soon bring policies to regulate and develop flower business.
The minister, on the occasion, also requested florists to come forward with their issues and plans on how to promote flower business. “The government is always ready to cooperate with the entrepreneurs to make the country self-reliant in flowers,” he said, again assuring that entrepreneurs need not worry about lack of budget to get their concerns addressed.
Organised to promote floriculture business and increase the production of flowers in Nepal by creating competitive environment among the flower entrepreneurs, Godavari Flower Exhibition will continue till Monday. The exhibition has a total of 44 stalls of flowers and four information centres. The organisers expect around 35,000 foot fall with transactions worth around Rs 5 million.
The stalls also showcase 16 new species of Godavari plant, which were brought from different countries as mother plants. Different types of flower with seasonal flowers like Sayapatri (Marigold) and Makhamali (Gomphrena globosa) are also available in the stalls.
During the inauguration ceremony the minister also handed over prizes to the winners of flower competition. Samjhana Nursery won the title prize of the Godavari Flower Exhibition, TPR Miteri Nursery grabbed second prize and TTR Bangalamukhi Nursery secured the third prize in the competition. Along with the certificates, the first, second and third winners also received cash purse of Rs 10,000, Rs 6,000 and Rs 4,000, respectively.
Likewise, in miniature category Ajima Nursery and in cut-flower category, Srijana Cut Flower Nursery was awarded. Samjhana Nursery has been awarded in four different categories.
According to the FAN, the production of flower is increasing in Nepal as 88 per cent of the local demand is met by local production. The consumption of flowers is highest during the Tihar festivals. “This year for Tihar, Nepal will import 200,000 flower garlands from other countries,” the association informed, adding that the production of flowers is increasing in Nepal due to use of different modern technologies in farming, and most of the people are interested in doing floriculture business due to easy return of investment.

'Made in Pakistan' expo kicks off in capital

The ninth edition of 'Made in Pakistan' expo kicked off in Kathmandu today. President of Nepal-Pakistan Friendship Association Himalaya SJB Rana inaugurated the weeklong expo.
The single country 'Made in Pakistan Expo' is organised by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with a number of Pakistani businesspersons, according to a press note issued by the Embassy of Pakistan based in Kathmandu.
The Pakistani products including furniture, leather items, handicrafts, textile products and artificial jewelry are on sale at the exhibition.