Nepal adopted liberal economic policy with a wide range of economic reforms since early 1990s. Those reforms induced remarkable growth in the key areas of the economy such as industry, trade, foreign investment, finance and international transactions. The Government facilitated for the growth of private sector by adopting liberal market oriented economic growth. The role of the government is centered to facilitator and regulator rather than directly involve in market activity.
The reform and restructuring process in various economic sectors, guided by each five-year economic plan, has been instrumental in making the economy more investment friendly, transparent, market oriented and efficient. As a result, the contribution from the non-agriculture sector reached to almost 67 percent from its 49 percent share in early 1990s.
In order to promote Nepal’s economy and trade further, it presented itself as an active member in the international trade forum. Nepal is a founding member of SAARC and is involved in South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) process from the very beginning, Nepal became the member of World Trade Organization in 2004. Similarly Nepal became member of The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectorial Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in the same year.