Nepal and Myanmar enjoy excellent relations. The relations between the two countries have been marked by goodwill, mutual respect, trust, and support throughout history, and they continue to be the same. The relations encompass areas such as trade, tourism, and cooperation on multilateral platforms such as BIMSTEC and the United Nations. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha – a sacred pilgrimage in Nepal and the presence of a large number of People of Nepali Origin (PNO), commonly known as “Gurkha” in Myanmar, have contributed to enhancing people-to-people relations between the two countries.
The existing trade relations between Nepal and Myanmar, which are mainly comprised of commodity trade, are nominal. The import items from Myanmar are dried legumes, beans and pulses, while the exports from Nepal are rugs and carpets, black tea, ayurvedic medicine, and handicrafts. The lack of land routes connecting the two countries and the inaccessibility of the sea to Nepal have hindered the prospects for further commodity trade expansion.
Nepal’s IT sector, with its software development and digital services, meets domestic demand. It has also made enormous strides in exports in recent years. In FY 2022, Nepal exported IT services worth US$515.4 million. Considering the booming IT sector of Nepal, the Embassy of Nepal in Yangon organized an event, Nepal-Myanmar Trade Relations: Promoting Software Business, on 31 May 2024 in order to enhance service trade between Nepal and Myanmar. At present, few private banks in Myanmar are using Nepali banking software, and there is potential to expand the market further. The programme aims to bring IT companies from Nepal and Myanmar together and establish networks between them so that they can engage in the export-import of software. The event is an opportunity for participating companies from Nepal to share information regarding their products and establish links with potential buyers as well as IT companies in Myanmar.
This one-day event aims to facilitate the identification of issues concerning service-software trade, match the software demand and supply requirements, and expand potential sectors of application, such as banking, microfinance, and remittance by bringing relevant stakeholders from Nepal and Myanmar together.
GNLM
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