April 11: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that investment-friendly laws will be passed through ordinances ahead of the upcoming Nepal Investment Summit scheduled for April 28 and 29.

Inaugurating the 58th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, PM Dahal said that the investment-related laws will be passed through ordinance as the government is unlikely to amend the laws due to parliamentary obstruction.

The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, has been obstructing the house proceedings demanding probe into the alleged irregularities committed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the cooperative sector.

With less than three weeks left for the investment summit, the government is unlikely to amend the necessary laws required for attracting foreign investment through the parliamentary process, which requires deliberations on the amendment bills.

Various committees formed by the government had recommending over a dozen laws to attract foreign investment.

The government was also planning to conduct the country’s sovereign credit rating before the investment summit but that too is not likely to happen due to time constraint.

The government has selected Fitch Ratings to undertake the country’s credit rating. The US-based rating company has said it will take at least three months to complete the country rating. However, the work is yet to begin and the investment summit is less than three weeks away.