STORY: Nepal to focus on digital economy: PM
DATELINE: June 24, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:03
LOCATION: Kathmandu
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Huawei Mobile Nepal Congress & Digital Nepal Conclave 2023
2. various of Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal speaking
3. various of attendees

STORYLINE:

Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Friday that his government had prioritized the development of the digital economy and digital services to improve the service delivery to people.

"The government has allocated 1 percent of the total development budget for innovation and start-up for the next 2023-24 fiscal year," Dahal said at a digital conference held by Huawei Nepal in Kathmandu.

Dahal noted that the budgetary allocation was increased to encourage Nepali youth to focus on innovation and work to develop hardware and software to meet needs at home.

Nepal has also lowered the threshold of foreign direct investment in information and communication technologies to about 153,000 U.S. dollars as against 384,000 dollars for other sectors.

Dahal stressed that the government is focusing on improving digital governance. "We have moved to introduce One Stop Solution and Data Exchange Platform to integrate all the digital services of the government," he said.

Huawei Nepal is holding a two-day Huawei MNC Digital Nepal Conclave with a view to bringing together various stakeholders in Nepal's digital ecosystem to discuss and showcase the country's progress and potential in the field of digital technology.

Pan Junfeng, president of Huawei South Asia, said Huawei would continue to make its contributions to a digital Nepal and smart Nepal.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kathmandu.
(XHTV)