Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari and his South Korean counterpart, Inkyo Cheong, signed a bilateral Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) agreement on Thursday.

The agreement was signed in Seoul, Korea, on the occasion of the completion of 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the RoK.

On the occasion, Minister Bhandari expressed confidence that the TIPF agreement would take the diplomatic, cultural and economic ties between the two countries to a new high. He stated that the government was committed to creating a favourable environment for foreign investment in Nepal, said Ananda Bhatta, Minister' Bhandari's personal secretary.

South Korea's Trade Minister Cheong said that companies from his country have invested in hydropower, automobiles, and assembling, among other sectors, in Nepal. He opined that the TIPF agreement would take the relations and economic collaboration between the two countries to a new height.

Recalling the cordial ties between the two nations, Minister Cheong underscored on promoting partnership between them.

Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board Nepal, Sushil Gyawali, made a presentation on the investment climate and opportunities in Nepal. Industrialists and businessmen from Nepal and South Korea attended the programme.

Chief of the Bilateral Trade Division at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Baburam Adhikari, made a presentation on the existing trade policy of Nepal and topics of improvement on it.

Officials from the Ministry, the Investment Board Nepal and the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul from the government side and some 30 businessmen including President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Chandra Dhakal, on behalf of the Nepali business sector, participated in the programme organised by the Korea Nepal Business Forum.