Updated

Nepal has gathered investors from some 30 countries hoping to attract foreign investment to support its recovery from a devastating earthquake in 2015.

The government hopes to attract at least $1 billion in new foreign investment during the two-day conference in the capital, Kathmandu, and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal promised Thursday to foster a good business environment.

Jin Liqun of the China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said it would work with the government to promote social and economic development in the country, one of the poorest in the region.

A decade-long communist insurgency put development on hold and was followed by years of political instability. The 2015 earthquake killed 9,000 people and damaged nearly 1 million houses.