FM urges private sector to trust government's economic commitment

Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai on Thursday urged the business community not to harbour any suspicion and mistrust regarding the commitment of the government towards free-market policy.

“The government is well aware of the fact that the country’s economy cannot take a quantum leap without the support of private sector. As such, the government is ready to facilitate the business communities in every possible manner,” he said while speaking at the sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) held in the capital.He also stated that his party, the Unified CPN (Maoist), which is also leading the incumbent coalition, is not averse to the idea of personal property.Industrialists of the country have frequently expressed their jitteriness about the economic commitment of the Maoists. They still fear that the Maoists may go against the free market policy by curtailing the role of private sector.The rebel-turned-minister also remarked that minimum collective understanding in major development agendas is mandatory to achieve desired economic goals.Dr Bhattarai also divulged that the government was mulling to bring a separate policy to discourage frequent strikes and bandhas in order to ensure smooth functioning of the industrial sector.He also revealed that the government would soon come up with special packages to facilitate “special” sectors of the country’s economy.