Back to news
12 Sep 2017 | News

Strengthening Ties with the Private Sector in Bhutan

Delegates from the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), a private sector body comprising of members from the Bhutanese business community, visited the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) headquarters in Kathmandu on 30 August 2017.

The visit was the first BCCI exposure trip organized outside Bhutan. It followed the June 2017 signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BCCI and ICIMOD. The MoU was a commitment to strengthening private sector engagement in Bhutan through collaborative action in relation to ongoing BCCI and ICIMOD activities.

1 min Read

70% Complete
BCCI representatives at ICIMOD Photo Credit: Utsav Maden/ICIMOD

ICIMOD is committed to collaborating with private sector bodies in the Hindu Kush Himalaya to ensure sustainable development in the region. The delegation of more than 40 Bhutanese dzongkhag (district) representatives was headed by BCCI Secretary General Phub Tshering.

Basanta Shrestha, Director Strategic Cooperation, ICIMOD, welcomed the delegates. In his remarks, Shrestha stressed on the importance of fostering close collaborations with various businesses in Bhutan to upscale and improve the livelihoods of mountain people. BCCI Secretary General Tshering said that the BCCI and ICIMOD can work together to strengthen sustainable business opportunities and improve livelihoods in Bhutan. He said, “BCCI is confident that ICIMOD is the perfect partner for us. It will help us gain technical knowledge on value chains and market linkages, capacity building for mountain communities, and enterprise development for agro-based small- and medium-scale enterprises.”

Tshering emphasized that the partnership with ICIMOD would help Bhutan create business leaders who are agents for change in the future. Following the remarks, BCCI delegates had an insightful interaction session with ICIMOD colleagues working with various initiatives where they learned about the various ICIMOD activities in Bhutan. The session provided the delegates an opportunity to understand and explore the areas for future collaboration with ICIMOD.


Phub Tshering, Secretary General of BCCI, speaking to BCCI and ICIMOD representatives
Photo Credit: Utsav Maden/ICIMOD

As part of their business exposure visit, the BCCI delegates also visited the ICIMOD Knowledge Park in Godavari to learn about innovative technologies, mountain farming, and other practices that useful for sustainable development.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

17 Nov 2016 News
ICIMOD Party to Beijing Declaration on the Belt and Road Initiative

The First International Science Forum of National Scientific Organizations on the Belt and Road Initiative was held in Beijing, China ...

29 Jun 2022 News
Joining hands for stronger disaster preparedness and response in Dolakha, Nepal

Discussions during a consultation meeting among Upper Koshi Basin stakeholders focused around understanding different types of hazards; exploring various measures ...

Professional Exchange Programme

Dema Yangzom, an engineer from the Department of Hydro-Met Services (DHMS) in ...

19 Feb 2016 Gender in Koshi
What do youth have to do with women’s participation?

An age old question that plagues our society is: where are the women? In my recent field visit to Sinduli, ...

ICIMOD and Global Biodiversity Information Facility Asia Nodes

  The 7th GBIF Asia Nodes meeting was organised in Tagaytay, Philippines 28 – 30 June, 2016 to review progress, elect ...

20 Feb 2015 News
ICIMOD and partners launch project on community-based water use planning

The workshop aimed to explain how the concept of water use master plan (WUMP) ...

10 Apr 2015 Atmosphere Initiative
NEC Secretary visits ICIMOD

Secretary of the National Environment Commission (NEC) of Bhutan, Dasho Ugyen Tshewang, visited the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) headquarters on ...

30 May 2017 Forests
Cooperatives prepare business plans to promote agroforestry in Chitwan, Nepal

An orientation programme was conducted by Bhandari and Bishwa Raj Karki (an independent consultant) to sensitize cooperative members to the ...