26th CACCI conference kicks off

The 26th conference of Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) kicked off in Kathmandu on Wednesday aiming to unleash new potentials through renewed partnership among governments and private sectors of 26 member countries.
The conference has been attended by more than 300 business leaders from 21 countries of Asia-Pacific region and through the next two days, they aspire to identify ways to boost investment and trade in the region and discuss on models to propel regional economic growth.
As the CACCI conference is taking place on the eve of the Investment Year 2012/13, which the government is preparing to announce, the Nepali government and private sector has pinned high hope on it in terms of promoting Nepal as a lucrative investment destination and attracting investors.
"The conference is important not just for Nepal but also for the entire region," Suraj Vaidya, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said.
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, who inaugurated the conference, welcomed the business delegates saying that the private sector has a larger role to uplift the country´s economy. "It´s a great opportunity for us to welcome business leaders from the region," Dr Yadav said. "This is the turn of Asia-Pacific region to prosper and utilize its huge resources for a shared prosperity."
In his address, Dr Yadav highlighted political developments in Nepal. "Nepal is passing through a transitional politics. Though delayed, we are in the process of having a new constitution in the near future," he stated.
Dr Yadav also appealed all the business leaders to invest in Nepal. "Regional integration should be among people, institutions, private sectors and governments of different countries."
Rona Yircali, chairman of World Chambers Federation (WCF), too urged all member countries to work together for winning prosperity for their people. "The road to prosperity is full of challenges. We have to work together in order to overcome these challenges," he said.
He noted that energy security, poverty reduction and identifying new growth models should be the agendas of the conference at this time.
K K Modi, president emeritus of CACCI, said Nepal, though small in size, is strategically important for all the countries to make investment.
"There are imbalances around the world not only in the Middle-East but around the world. These imbalances demand our joint efforts to fix them," Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. "A single model may not work for all of us. But we have to work together."
FNCCI, the host organization of the conference, has put effort in place to make this platform to have business to business meetings among private sectors of the different countries.
Additionally, interested member chambers will also have the opportunity to sign memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FNCCI and other CACCI members, defining possible areas of cooperation during the conference period.
CACCI is a regional grouping of apex national chambers of commerce and industry, business associations and business enterprises in Asia and the Western Pacific.
The 25th conference was held in Istanbul in 2011. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, FNCCI has signed MoU with The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and Georgian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.