By Anil Giri
Kathmandu, Oct 31 (IANS): India's Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari will deliver the inaugural speech in the first ever Nepal Infrastructure Summit-2014 in Kathmandu Nov 11.

The summit, organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), will be held here Nov 11-12 with more than 400 investors, policy makers, government officials, architects and engineers participating.

Diplomats, representatives of real state development companies, banks and financial institutions, and educational and research institutions from Nepal, India, China and Japan are among those who will participate.

"In India, the Modi government has prioritised infrastructure and rural sector development. Hence, we have invited Gadkari to share his ideas that can be really helpful for Nepal," said Hari Bhakta Sharma, senior vice president of CNI.

The meet on "Accelerating Investment in Infrastructure" aims to start and sustain a national conversation on infrastructure development so that policies, regulations, networks, knowhow, financing and expertise could be pooled and deployed in Nepal in a close coordination between the government and the private sector.

CNI president Narendra Basnet said the event would cover several thematic areas, including tourism, infrastructure, energy, transportation, urban infrastructure and agriculture.

Sharma said the lack of relevant policy and regulations has discouraged domestic as well as foreign investors, so the event would also help the government to identify prospective investment areas.

Besides Gadkari, National Planning Commission vice-chairman Govinda Raj Pokhrel, CNI president emeritus Binod Chaudhary, Investment Board Nepal CEO Radhesh Pant, and Nepal Planning Commission member Swarnim Wagle will be the other keynote speakers.