Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal emphasized infrastructure to develop the digital capacity while speaking at the inaugural day of the Huawei MNC Digital Nepal Conclave 2023 event. He was present as the chief guest on the first day of the country’s precious annual digital fair.
The PM said, “The government has emphasized the necessary infrastructure for digital Nepal. The government intends to reduce digital devices and emphasize the digital economy.”
He also shared that in recent times, skilled human resources are being produced in Nepal too.
Speaking on the inaugural day at the conclave, Prachanda shared that the government has allocated a 1% budget on R&D for FY 2080/81. “It will be used for research, invention, startup, and entrepreneurship,” said the PM.
Razan Lamsal gave a welcome speech at the event. The President of ICT Foundation Nepal and Chairman of the program said that the 2-day conclave is being organized as an effort to measure digital capabilities for digital transformation.
PM Dahal Addresses the Digital Nepal Conclave 2023
He continued, “For research, invention, start-up, and entrepreneurship promotion, we have already made arrangements to spend 1 percent of the total capital budget on research and development through the budget of the next fiscal year.” He expressed the belief that this will help in further ICT promotion.
Dahal said that the government will pass necessary laws such as Information Technology Act, Cyber Policy Act, eCommerce Policy, and other necessary laws and implement them quickly. “The government will revise the Digital Nepal Framework to make it timely, and relevant,” he added.
Perspective on ICT is changing- Communication Minister Rekha Sharma
Communications and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma also shared her thoughts at the conclave. She made her appearance as a special guest at the Huawei MNC Digital Nepal Conclave 2023.
Speaking at the Fire Side Power Sambad at the same event, Communication Minister Rekha Sharma said that there has been a change in perspective about ICT. She said that previously, information technology was largely seen as a tool for entertainment but now, she stated that it is also stressed for production and the digital economy.
She claimed that the government is making its effort to make ICT accessible to all citizens. Also, the government is formulating and revising plans to develop the sector. Further, Sharma said that the Ministry is conscious of the possibility of misuse of technology. “There will be a significant development in information technology in the next 10 years,” she said.
The minister also expressed that Digital Nepal Framework is difficult to implement due to the lack of coordinating organizations. She continued, “There is a need for an authorized organization for the implementation of the Digital Nepal Framework. Discussions are being held in the ministry for this.”
Echoing PM Dahal, Sharma said that the government is keenly working on producing efficient digital human resources. She said that the government is making attempts to attract those who are studying IT courses. For this, the government will arrange a staff college”
“We are also arranging a separate staff college for the development of IT manpower in government service.”
Communication Minister Rekha Sharma while speaking at the Huawei Digital Nepal Conclave 2023
Also read: Lower the Call Rates to Nepal: Communication Minister Sharma Requests Her Indian Counterpart
Discussion for a Digital Nepal
Similarly, NTA Chairman Purushottam Khanal said that information technology is important for the development of every nation. And he said that the same holds true for Nepal. Likewise, Huawei South Asia Regional Office President Peter Pan said that Huawei will always pledge its support for Digital Nepal.
The 2-day conclave will have 70 resource persons including ICT experts from several different countries. Altogether, there will be 15 sessions on 6 different topics. Subject matter experts from South Korea, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh will be present at the conclave. They will present a working paper in their presentation.
Don’t miss: Nepal Has Great Potential for Digital Transformation: Huawei Nepal CEO
ICT stakeholders under the safe roof
During the inaugural session, Dileep Agarwal, President of World Link, presented a paper on Digital Capabilities, and Chang Hak Choi on Digital Policy Capabilities. Lee Yun Seng, Senior Industry Solutions Expert of Huawei Asia Pacific region, and MoCIT Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut also delivered their presentation paper.
The Secretary of MoCIT Krishna Bahadur Raut, former Minister Ganesh Shah, Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) Chairman Purushottam Khanal, CAN Federation Chairman Ranjit Podar, Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry Senior Vice President, Anjan Shrestha and other senior officials of the Government of Nepal, representatives of partner organizations, national and international speakers, personalities working in the field of information technology, etc. also made their presence as guests.
The conclave is being held under the slogan “Fostering Digitally Sakshyam Nepal”. And it will emphasize Nepal’s capability for digital transformation and the necessary policies and implementation for it.
