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

12 Oct 2015 Wetlands
Advocating for wetland conservation and management

  Over 70 experts, policy makers, scientists & academia gathered in Dali, China to contribute to improved the management of wetland ...

2 Jun 2016 News
Building Local Capacities for Managing Springsheds and Reviving Springs

Springs are the primary source of water for many communities living in mid-hills of Nepal.  Changes in social and economic ...

4 Jul 2016 News
P3DM in Nepal

The workshop ‘Participatory 3 Dimensional Model (P3DM) building’ was held 12-18 June 2016 at Dhungetar, Charghare VDC, Nuwakot in Nepal. ...

22 Sep 2015 News
Policy conference supports action on adaptation

Experts working across the Indus River Basin came together during a ...

4 Mar 2015 News
Humla landslide update

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Dadeldhura received 67 mm of ...

30 Mar 2020 News
Yak across borders: Bhutan gifts breeding bulls to Nepal and India for gene pool improvement

In a collaborative move that bolsters yak conservation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, the Government of Bhutan handed ...

11 May 2016 KSL
Kailash Nepal Chapter Launches Brand ‘Kailash – Truly Sacred’

[caption id="attachment_8392" align="aligncenter"] Minister Industry, Som Prasad Pandey at Kailash brand LaunchPhoto: ...

3 May 2016 Himalica
Farmers Learn Modern Beekeeping

Beekeeping with Apis cerana is a common practice among the pilot households in Taplejung district of Nepal. Over one-third of the households ...