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

27 Jul 2018 DFAT Brahmaputra
Synthesizing Knowledge on the Vanishing Springs of the Himalaya

Springs are the main source of water for millions of people in the mid-hills of the HKH and provide multiple ...

11 May 2017 Himalica
Joint Monitoring of Himalica Pilot Project in Tsirang, Bhutan

During the visit, the joint monitoring team interacted with goat and vegetable value chain groups formed by Himalica and a ...

17 Feb 2015 News
Improving Water Management through Satellite Remote Sensing Applications

At the inaugural session, Kamran Ali Qureshi, Federal Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology, emphasized ...

18 Dec 2020 RMS
Bouncing back from COVID-19 by promoting green enterprise in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Developing green enterprise that can align social and economic goals with cultural and environmental ones is key ...

Third UIBN–AC Meeting discusses data gaps in Upper Indus basin research

The UIBN–AC Meeting was primarily held to recap previous meetings, discuss the progress made by the country chapter’s Technical Working ...

24 Jun 2015 News
Nepal deploys information platform for recovery and reconstruction

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Government of Nepal, in close collaboration with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and technical ...

Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KLCDI) Pilot Implementation Phase Underway

The G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development, (GBPNIHESD), the Indian nodal organisation with support from ...

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) ...