New Delhi, February 17 The second edition of the India-Nepal Trade Festival, which aims to boost economic cooperation and seeks to "bridge the bilateral trade deficit" in the long run, will take place in Delhi from February 20 to 22, the organizers announced on Tuesday.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Nepalese Minister Anil Kumar Sinha are scheduled to attend the event as chief guests, Mohan Karki, general secretary of the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ECCI), told reporters here.
At a briefing held at the Press Club of India, Karki and ECCI president Yubraj Baral shared the broader contours of the event, which will be hosted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The festival is being held in association with the Embassy of Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board, and the Trade and Exhibition Promotion Centre, Nepal.
The event aims to strengthen bilateral trade and investment, boost tourism, and promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties between the two countries, Karki said.
He said the basic pillars of the festival are tourism promotion, enhancing business engagements, bridging the bilateral trade deficit in the long run, promoting art and culture, and boosting people-to-people links that have existed between the two countries since ancient times.
Karki said that religious sites in Nepal, such as the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu and Lord Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini, along with Mata Sita's association with Janakpur, attract devotees from India, just as Ayodhya and other sites in India draw people from Nepal.
Baral said that a well-known Nepali film, "Gurkha Warriors," will be screened on the opening day of the festival.
Business delegations led by representatives of various trade chambers in Nepal, such as the Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), and many tour operators will be participating in the event.
Nepalese cuisine, culture, and products will also be showcased at the festival.
Based in New Delhi, the ECCI promotes trade ties between India and Nepal.