Kathmandu, Nepal, December 5, 2013 -
IFC, a member of the World Bank G
roup, is working with the government of Nepal to improve food safety standards at hotels and restaurants and spur tourism spending in the country. This initiative will help the government reform its food safety inspection activities, and adopt international best practices and standards.
The initiative kicked off with a three-day workshop that ended yesterday, in which frontline market inspectors from key government agencies were trained on market monitoring and inspection techniques.
Inspectors learned that a risk-based approach to food safety allowed them to focus limited resources on high-priority high-risk areas.
SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility, managed by IFC in partnership with the UK Government and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, is supporting this initiative.
“The Nepalese hospitality sector must focus on quality services to fully realize the country’s great potential in tourism,” said Hari Narayan Belbase, Director at the Department of Commerce and Supply Management. “Improved inspection will help hospitality entrepreneurs improve standards and become more profitable.”
Global food safety experts from the UK government’s Better Regulation Delivery Office are working with IFC to study food safety in hotels and restaurants and build capacity in the concerned Nepal government agencies. They will also help develop and support new and existing citizen empowerment approaches to food safety in the country.
“Due to inadequate regulations and standards for tourism services, tourist spending is low in Nepal,” said Val S. Bagatsing, IFC Resident Representative in Nepal. “Elevated safety standards for food in eateries can be a starting point for the government to improve standards across a range of services that impact tourism spending.”
IFC in Nepal is committed to strengthening private sector growth, promoting a supportive regulatory framework, boosting investment, and creating more jobs in the country.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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