Senior Vice President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Prasad Dhakal has said that there is a need for a comprehensive change in the way society and the state view the private sector.

"We have to work to make the private sector respectable and to restore the damaged reputation of the private sector. For this, we need to unanimously select the leadership of district, municipal, province and centre as much as possible. The private sector should be strong and powerful,” he made this remark while addressing the 6th Provincial Assembly of Bagmati Province of the FNCCI.

He urged everyone not to raise the issue irresponsibly just for cheap popularity and applause in the crowd.

"I also want to tell my friends in the private sector to be realistic and practical. Don't go out of it and compete to be popular in the crowd. This may one day lead to a crisis that we have not imagined of," he said.

Stating that the economic condition of the country has deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that there has been a decrease in the flow of remittances as the workers who have returned to Nepal cannot go abroad immediately in the aftermath of the COVID-19.

"During the coronavirus pandemic, around Rs. 4.5 billion of loans had gone from banks in a period of six months. At that time, when the liquidity in the banks increased, the banks encouraged industrialists to take loans. Industrialists have also invested in real estate by taking loans," he said.

He said that there has been improvement in some indicators of the economy and expressed confidence that the economy would not deteriorate from the current situation.

"The number of people going for foreign jobs has also increased. The number of tourists from abroad has also started to increase. Remittance inflow has also increased. There has also been an improvement in the liquidity of banks and financial institutions. And, I don't think the economy will deteriorate more than this in the coming days. I believe there will be some improvement," he said.

Stating that he fully supported the demand that women should be represented in the new leadership of the FNCCI, he also expressed his commitment to make genuine efforts to increase the representation of women in the federation during his tenure.

Dhakal said that some of the provisions in the constitution of the federation were not compatible and he would proceed by amending it.