PM Balen Pledges Policy Support to Boost Domestic Footwear Industry

KATHMANDU — Prime Minister Balendra Shah assured robust state backing to domestic footwear manufacturers on Friday, emphasizing import substitution, export growth, and domestic job creation.

During consultations with a high-level delegation from the Footwear Manufacturers Association of Nepal (FMAN), the Prime Minister committed to inter-governmental coordination for specialized vocational training and private-sector-led global branding initiatives.

FMAN representatives pressed the executive branch to clamp down on border irregularities, demanding tighter custom enforcement to curb informal cross-border smuggling, bring grey-market imports under standard tax and VAT nets, and enforce mandatory quality compliance tests on foreign footwear.