KATHMANDU: The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has urged political parties to prioritize economic issues in their manifestoes for the upcoming elections.

Addressing a program held here today, CNI President Birendra Raj Pandey stressed that the country should get the government within the stipulated time and achieve both political and economic way-out.

He said, “It appears that only the political agenda is being prioritised at present, but a clear plan and roadmap are essential for improving the country’s economy.”

Pandey stated that, although political changes occur in the country almost in every decade, the country’s average economic growth rate has not significantly improved.

According to him, the trend of declining contribution of the production and industrial sectors to the economy and the increasing share of the service sector in recent years is worrying.

The CNI President said, “Increasing the contribution of the production sector to the economy is today’s need. Without this, long-term economic stability is not possible.”

He stated that the economic growth rate could not be achieved due to issues such as weak capital expenditure, investment not expanding despite sufficient liquidity, and policy instability.

CNI has suggested that to improve the economy, an investment-friendly environment must be created, annual changes in tax policy should be stopped, administrative hassles reduced, and the situation where multiple agencies have to be approached for the same task should be ended.

Pandey also mentioned that doing business is difficult due to the numerous regulatory structures. He emphasised that alongside political stability, accelerating the economy should be the main goal now. He noted that although political parties have good commitments in their manifestos, the implementation side tends to be weak.

CNI has suggested that policies promoting entrepreneurship should be adopted, good governance should be maintained, large infrastructure projects should be completed on time, IT-based enterprises should be prioritized, energy security should be strengthened, and special attention should be given to promoting tourism.

Similarly, policies should be formulated to derive greater benefits from forest products, and political parties should also be serious about attracting domestic and foreign investment in the mining and mineral sectors, according to CNI.

CNI Senior Vice President Nirvana Chaudhary said that unemployment within the country is currently the biggest problem.

He stated that discussions and interactions will be held with senior leaders of all political parties to create a clear roadmap for sustainable economic development along with political stability in the upcoming elections.