Addressing the gathering, Dr Posh Raj Pandey, President, SAWTEE said that Nepal has made a commitment to enact competition law at the time of its accession to the WTO but has not fulfilled it yet. He said that Competition law is essential to promote competitiveness among the domestic enterprises to enable them to compete in the international market. He further emphasized that competition law is also necessary in view of the fact that multinational corporations could resort to anti-competitive practices making the survival of domestic industries difficult.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Rajendra Khetan, Vice President,CNI  said that Competition Law is essential to ensure fair competition in the market. The enactment of the law not only protects the consumers from anti-competitive practices but also enhances the efficiency of the business enterprises. He also said that there was no reason for the business enterprises to be apprehensive about the law.         

Presenting his paper on "Competition and Economic Growth" Dr Hemant Dabadi said that Competition is essential for the growth of the economy. But it should not be left unattended, he said, therefore a legislation is important to regulate it and keep a check on unfair trading practices.       

Similarly Advocate Tika Ram Bhattarai presenting his paper on Competition law for "Fair Trade", said that looking at the importance of Competition law for the business and consumers, the government should not waste any more time in enacting the law. He further said that in order to ensure effective implementation an autonomous, independent competition authority should also be established.

Commenting on their papers, Mr Jagadish Agarwal, Industrialist said that talking about Competition law brings the issue of promoting competition culture to the fore, because success of the law ultimately depends on creating a healthy competition culture among the stakeholders.   

Similarly Members of Parliament Dr.Dilli Raj Khanal and Deep Kumar Upadhyay also expressed their views and said that there is no doubt on the need for Competition Law to regulate competition in the Nepalese economy. Mr Binod Chaudhari, President CNI, Mr Bijay Ghimire, President, SEJON and Mr Naindra Upadhyay, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MOICS) and Dr. Shankar Sharma, also expressed their opinions on the occasion. They said that possible efforts from all sectors should be made in order to pressurize the government to enact competition law.      

The talk programme was attended by more than 70 stakeholders, which included representatives from business community, academicians, advocates and representatives from the civil society.