Dehradun (India), March 21: The Indo-Nepal International Trade Fair and Tourism Festival, 2025 aimed at promoting and exchanging trade, tourism and culture between the two countries has kicked off here today.
Amidst a programme on Friday evening, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Province Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the festival jointly hosted by Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Uttarakhand Pradesh government of India.
There are 50 exhibition stalls of Nepali entrepreneurs and 150 of Indian entrepreneurs in the festival to be continued for seven days. Chief Minister Dhami said that the festival with participation of entrepreneurs from both the countries has further strengthened Nepal-India relations.
“This festival will be fruitful for further strengthening the cultural and emotional ties between the two countries”, he added. The CM also shared that the limit of time to move through a bridge near Banbasa along the border between the two countries has been extended to seven hours from four hours per day and pledged to further expand the time limit in coming days.
Expressing confidence that the fair would be helpful for the development of enterprises of both the countries, he said that this forum would be a medium to strengthen economic relations. “We have constructed various infrastructures to facilitate trade between Uttarakhand and Nepal so that businesspersons and citizens of both the countries can benefit financially from it”, he claimed.
Former Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province Rajendra Singh Rawal said that the festival was the basis for strengthening the relations between the two countries economically.
Likewise, Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Pitambar Joshi said the festival would boost trade between the two countries and contribute to the development of the tourism sector.
“Dehradun is a place with a large number of Nepali speakers, it can become a good market for the trade of agricultural produce produced in Nepal and the festival will also play an important role in increasing Indian tourists to Nepal as a whole”, he said.
