DAVOS, SWITZERLAND: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has stressed the need for reviving multilateralism and rules law-based international trade system for promotion and protection of concerns and interests of the landlocked and least developed countries (LDCs) like Nepal.

PM Oli said this during the informal gathering of the world’s economic leaders attending the 49th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The PM attended the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) and shared views on the theme of “The End of Global Trade as We Know It?”. On the occasion, he stressed the need for reviving multilateralism and rules-based international trading system that promotes and protects the concerns and interests of the least developed and landlocked countries like Nepal, according to the Embassy of Nepal in Geneva, Switzerland. PM Oli had an opportunity to interact on the theme of global trade with the leaders of G-20 countries as well as prominent business persons, it is said.

On the sidelines, PM Oli had a bilateral meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The two leaders discussed various matters of Nepal-Vietnam relations. They underscored the need to enhance economic engagements in the areas of trade, investment, connectivity and tourism as well as the necessity to exchange high-level visits between the two countries.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of Swiss pharmaceutical production company, Novartis Vasant Narasimhan and Chairman and CEO of KPMG India, Arun Kumar also called on PM Oli on the margins of the WEF Annual Meeting. Discussions about possible investment in Nepal’s priority sectors were drawn in the meetings.

Likewise, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada attended a session on the theme of “More than GDP” at the WEF Annual Meeting. The Finance Minister also had a meeting with Director of the Netherlands-based company Arcadis Carolien Gehrels. Matters about investment in and development assistance to Nepal were discussed on the occasion, according to a press release from the Embassy of Nepal in Geneva.

Furthermore, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called on Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. They discussed matters related to refugees in Nepal as well as the Global Compact on Refugees.

Besides these engagements, PM Oli, Minister Gyawali, Minister Khatiwada among other high-ranking officials of the delegation had informal interactions with various government and business leaders attending the WEF Annual Meeting. Issues pertaining to Nepal’s development policies, plans and priorities were featured prominently during those interactions.