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

1 Jul 2016 Himalica
Myanmar Villagers Learn to Make Bio-briquettes

To address rural energy problems, twenty seven villagers from Kyang Taung, Kyang Nur, Pantin, Thyetpin, Antpet and Zeyar, Myanmar were ...

28 Jul 2016 Livelihoods
Solar Water Pumping from Hunza River Enhances Local Livelihoods

A solar pumping system to irrigate the newly developed orchards along the Hunza River using drip irrigation in Upper Gojal, ...

31 Mar 2015 News
Celebrating International Women’s Day 2015

ICIMOD celebrated International Women’s Day 2015 in collaboration with the Government of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Karakorum International University ...

30 Sep 2015 News
Community leaders from Kavre District learn about innovative livelihood techniques at ICIMOD’s Godavari

  Increasingly, many areas of Kavre suffer problems with water;  frequently there is not enough. As a result, many community members ...

14 Dec 2016 HICAP
Researchers Discuss Wetland Research in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Policy makers, experts, and practitioners from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) converged at a symposium held on the side lines ...

27 Mar 2017 Himalica
Bhutan’s Minister of Agriculture and Forests visits Himalica Pilot Sites in Barshong, Tsirang

The Bhutanese Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji, visited Himalica pilot project sites in ...

9 Nov 2016 News
Regional Workshop on ‘Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV) in the Context of REDD+ in the Hindu Kush Himalayas’

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development’s (ICIMOD) Regional REDD+ Initiative organised the regional workshop ‘Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV) ...

24 Jul 2019 CBFEWS
Partnering with private enterprise and communities to manage flood risk

Zarnash Bibi, a teacher from Pakistan says that flood early warning systems have put vulnerable communities at ease: “Earlier, we ...