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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala, who is touring Europe since last week, met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre at the latter’s office in Oslo, Monday and discussed on various issues of Nepal-Norway bilateral relations.
During the meeting, they also exchanged views on the impacts of climate change and developmental problems faced by Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal.
DPM Koirala apprised her Norwegian counterpart of the current political situation in Nepal including ongoing peace process and consensus building efforts of the High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM).
She appreciated the assistance provided by the Norwegian government to Nepal’s socio-economic development and requested Norway to further the scope of bilateral cooperation.
The Norwegian foreign minister reiterated his government’s commitment towards continued support to Nepal and wished for the early conclusion of Nepal’s peace process through political consensus. Issues of women empowerment, promotion of human rights, extension of the mandate of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal and accession to anti-personnel landmine treaty by Nepal were also discussed in the meeting.
Read full story at: nepalnews.com
Gyan Chandra Acharya, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, on Tuesday said the Least Development Countries (LDCs) should be the natural and principal stakeholders and an integral part in all the international economic and development agenda.
He made the statement to this effect while making an opening statement in Nepal’s capacity as Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the inaugural session of the High-level Policy Dialogue on the Brussels Programme of Action (BPOA) for the African Least Developed Countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The March 08-9 meeting is aimed at making a regional review of the implementation of BPOA in thirty three African least developed countries.
Acharya said that the meeting provided particular inputs to the fourth UN conference on the Least Developed Countries to be held in Turkey next year.
He further underlined the need to take onboard both BPOA and MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals to reinforce the complementary nature and interconnectedness of LDCs and global development agenda.
Read full story at: nepalnews.com
JEDDAH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, has accepted an invitation to visit Nepal. This was announced following a meeting in Riyadh between the prince and the Nepalese Ambassador to the Kingdom Hamid Ansari.
During their meeting, a number of social and economic issues related to the two countries were discussed.
Throwing light on the economic condition of his people, Ansari said almost 70 percent of Nepalese were below the poverty line.
He thanked the Saudi government for opening the doors for Nepalese workers in the Kingdom. The prince’s visit to Nepal is expected to take place in the near future. Source: ARAB NEWS
Source: nrnaksa.org
SOLUKHUMBU, Mar 7: Constructing a road at the dizzying heights of 3,000 meter was not an easy task. But four years of hard work finally paid off. The locals clapped and cheered on Thursday as the first four-wheeler reached Faplu of Solu all the way from Okhaldhunga district headquarters.
Inaugurating the road, Local Development Minister Purna Kumar Sherma declared, “Solu, the district that has world´s tallest mountain, is now connected to the Tarai and Kathmandu with motor road.” The road inauguration was witnessed by hundreds of people including ADB and SDC representatives from Kathmandu.
The locals constructed the 59-km road with homemade tools, which is a remarkable example of what people can do if they join hands for the better. “It used to take us a week to reach the hospital. Now we can do it in a day. This will save people from untimely deaths,” said Suntali Magar of Chitre village of Okhaldhunga.
With the road coming into operation, the prices of consumer goods have also gone down.
But constructing the roads through the mountains was not a cakewalk. Many even surmised that the road would never see the light of the day. Among the detractors was former minister Bal Bahadur KC, who said that he would sacrifice one-and-a half-dozen goats if the road was ever constructed. The locals, with their perseverance and hard work, made KC eat crow.
Read full story at: beacononline.wordpress.com
KATHMANDU: Making Asia’s sprawling urban areas more sustainable, competitive and environmentally friendly is the focus of an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-organised conference in Manila.
The conference, Cluster Economic Development – Promoting Local Economies through SME-Cluster Approach, will look at a new approach for urban development by supporting conditions for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to flourish around industry clusters, and the vital role played by SMEs for sustainable growth and poverty reduction.
Asia’s cities have fuelled the region’s unprecedented economic boom over the past few decades, expanding to form increasingly clustered urban regions. However, growth has come at the cost of environmental stress, overcrowding and widening income gaps. Without change, these vast urban areas risk becoming economically uncompetitive and suffering further environmental degradation.
“Given the substantial opportunities for SMEs in areas such as manufacturing, services and agriculture – and their potential for reducing poverty – it is critical for governments to come up with effective strategies and practical investment programs to facilitate further SME cluster development,” said Sultan Hafeez Rahman, director general of ADB’s South Asia Department.
Read full story at: thehimalayantimes.com
Kathmandu, Mar 5 (PTI) Japan has pledged to provide a financial aid of USD 11 million to Nepal to improve community access and strengthen infrastructure in the rural areas.
Local Development Secretary Rameshore Prasad Khanal and Japanese ambassador to Nepal Tatsuo Mizuno inked the pact today here to construct some 35 all-weather-motorable bridges in 13 linking roads in Sindhuli, Ramechhap, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk and Mahottari districts in central Terai plains.
The USD 11 million aid would also help in construction of bridges in liking rural road to the BP Koirala Highway in southern Nepal, according to Ministry.
The project to be implemented by the ministry of local development is expected to be completed by July 2012. Japan is among the largest financial aid to Nepal.
Nepal’s effort to strengthen its rural infrastructure has been hit by the frequent violence against local contractors and foreign firms who have been targeted by the Maoists.
Source: ptinews.com
(RTTNews) – The United States has provided an assistance of USD 5 million to Nepal for the U.N. World Food Program’s (WFP) operations in the Himalayan country as a part of its 2009 commitment.
The final shipment of 3,500 tons of staple food, including rice and peas, will be used to support the conflict victims and drought-affected people in eight districts of Nepal, said U.S. Embassy press release.
“Recent declining agricultural production has depressed many rural economies and increased the spread of hunger throughout Nepal,” said Kevin A Rushing, director of the USAID, which delivered the food on behalf of the U.S. government.
“Our contribution demonstrates the U.S’ long-standing commitment to the welfare of the Nepali people,” he added. With this assistance, USAID has contributed food worth USD 12 million to the nascent democratic country.
Expressing his thankfulness to the timely contribution and continued support from the USAID, Richard Ragan, the WFP Country Representative, said this support was critical in meeting the needs of more than 450,000 Nepalese.
Read full story at: rttnews.com
KATHMANDU, : Nepal has agreed to compensate Indian investors for any losses they might suffer from non-commercial factors — like change in tax structure and other policy decisions — in a bid to lure more investments from the southern neighbor.
As this ended long-running differences over the article on “compensation of loss”, technical officials of Nepal and India also finalized the draft of Bilateral
Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA) on Thursday.
The two sides had negotiated the draft on Wednesday and Thursday. “We are glad we managed to iron out differences,” said Dhundi Raj Pokharel, joint secretary of Ministry of Industry (MoI), who added that MoI would now forward the draft to the cabinet for endorsement and signing at the higher political level.
Interestingly though, MoI had already forwarded a finalized draft to the cabinet in the past as well. However, the draft had been returned to the ministry for revision and clarification on some of its provisions.
Under the article on “denial of benefit”, in which the cabinet had sought further clarification, the new draft agreement has provisioned that only the industries of substantial business will enjoy the facility as pledged in the agreement.
“We have mentioned various parameters like scale and structure of investment, employment and turnover to define “substantial business”,” said Pokharel.
Read more: www.myrepublica.com
You are panting in the thin air 10,000 feet above sea level as the rocky trail climbs steeply towards the white Himalayan giants up the valley
ahead. Suddenly you hear the dull chimes of the cowbells.
The foreign trekkers and the Nepali porters all scramble to the edge of the trail as the sharp horns of long-haired yaks or hairless “dzo”—a mix of yak and cow—appear, laden with tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, and bottles of beer. The gentle animals pass and you resume the climb.
A porter is easily hired at the start of the trail for $10 a day— $20 if they speak English. Most are Sherpas, Tamang, Rai, or from other hill tribes.
Each day in October, when the monsoon rains end, hundreds of trekkers start out for Everest Base Camp at 17,000 feet, higher passes or peaks, or simply Namche Bazzar at 12,000 feet, the largest village in the Sherpa region.
Namche is full of small shops selling handicrafts and warm clothing. Small hotels and guest houses offer hot showers, warm bedding, and decent meals.
Around the crowded tables, trekkers and climbers discuss how to avoid altitude sickness, what routes are best to take, and where they’ve been in the past. Along the trails, community forests protected and managed by USAID-supported programs continue to grow tall and stave off erosion and landslides.
Aid programs also support schools, improve agriculture on the terraced fields, and offer health care such as condom distribution to prevent disease.
Tatsuo Mizuno is the ambassador of Japan to Nepal. He assumed his office on October 3, 2007. Mizuno joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973, graduating from the Sociology Department of the University of Tokyo. During his long diplomatic career, he assumed various positions at home and abroad. At home he served as Senior Intelligence Officer of Cabinet Office, Director of Division of the Protection of Japanese National Overseas, and as a Professor for Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University. He also served abroad as Counselor, Embassy of Japan in France, and Minister, Embassy of Japan in Ireland. Before being appointed as the Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, he served as the Consul-General in Auckland, New Zealand.
With diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan in 1954, Japanese grant and loan aid to Nepal started with the opening of the embassy in Kathmandu in 1968. At present Japan is one of the top donors to Nepal and involved in every important sector of the economy. Nandalal Tiwari, Reporter of The Rising Nepal, talked with ambassador Mizuno on issues ranging from impact of Japanese aid to Nepal, Nepal’s tourism and peace process. Excerpts:
Japan has been one of the biggest bilateral development partners for Nepal providing support for both social and physical infrastructure development.How do you assess the impact of Japan’s aid to Nepal?
The Government of Japan has supported Nepal for the last 4 decades, especially for hydropower generation facility, school construction, food assistance and road construction. Also multiple development projects targeting on both infrastructural and community development are in progres, such as Shindhuli road and Bhaktapur road, which are expected to enable the adjacent communities to see more smooth flow of people and logistics as well. We believe that those projects have made a significant impact on Nepali people’s standard of life, in terms of improving social welfare and medical access. These are widely appreciated already all over in Nepal.
How do you feel when you see that some of the Japanese Government supported projects in Nepal are not operational now, for eg. Sajha Yatayat?
For the operation and management of the international donor’s projects, a sense of ownership has been highlighted in recent years. Despite full efforts the donors made, some of the projects out of many have not been effectively operated or maintained. Investigating causation of the unfortunate cases, it is often found that lack of ownership of the recipient side caused serious delay of proper repair or maintenance of facilities/equipments, and worsened the situation. In the days ahead, local people’s capacity building towards proper operation and maintenance should be strengthened, for which Japan is ready to provide all possible technical assistance.
It is said that donors set conditions for the start and continuation of support. Does Japan set any such conditions?
The Government of Japan prioritizes its Official Development Aid (ODA) for poverty reduction, sustainable growth, addressing global issues and peace-building. Also it can be pointed out that transparency in ODA implementation is more and more demanded by the parliament and the tax payers.
Therefore everything donated/granted is strongly hoped to be effectively utilized to improve the life of Nepali people, national development, and peace process and so on. Proper management, maintenance and operations of the projects are essentially required.
As a developing country, Nepal needs a lot of international support. What, in Your Excellency’s opinion, should Nepal do to attract more support?
To attract international support, there are some essential key factors to be attained, that is to say, good quality of social infrastructure and security. JICA volunteers in the local field can not work happily under the worry of intimidation or money extortion or with poor mobile/internet communications. Also, in the project sites, we, donor countries, are often embarrassed with the delay or suspension of construction work caused by local disputes between Nepali government sector and local people who put forward a number of compensation demands. Those local disputes should be resolved as soon as possible, not involving foreign donors, to enable us move ahead the projects on schedule.
What should Nepal do to attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) from Japan?
According to the report of the Government of Nepal, there is remarkable trend that the FDI during fiscal year 2007/08 reached nearly 10 billion rupees which is an increase by 236% compared to the same period of 2006/07. This successful figure has been achieved supposedly by the booming hydropower and real estate sectors. As you know, Nepal has a huge potentiality in hydropower sector, which can solve the serious domestic problem of load-shedding, as well as enable the export of its surplus electricity to Indian market.
To fully utilize such a good potentiality and opportunity, Nepal should start with improving business security and infrastructure. As mentioned above, problem of social infrastructure and security should be solved steadily for the investment sector also. Especially, bandha (strikes) in the industrial estates, and chhakajam (transportation strike) in the main highways are serious problems which obstruct business activities and investment mind.
There are many areas in Nepal in which Japanese entrepreneurs and companies want to invest including hydropower generation and water treatment facility. In order to attract Japanese investment, the government of Nepal should show the blue prints of the projects, with details of the size, the funding required and reasonability. I have heard that there are many blue prints on hydropower generation projects, construction of international airport and highways. However, I would like to stress that actual details and schedule of the projects should be provided to invite FDI from Japan.
Nepal suffers from trade deficit with Japan. How can this be improved?
Nepal has a big potentiality for agricultural products which may have good potentiality in Japanese market. Vegetables, fruits, herbal medicine and Yarsagumba can have a great market in Japan. The point is that they should be quality guaranteed and verified. In Japan, we cannot produce Yarsagumba which needs high mountains for production. Nepal has a very unique natural environment to produce rare herbal medicine. If these things were produced with strict verification and exported to Japan, Nepal could take great advantage.
How do you evaluate the progress of the peace process in Nepal?
Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2006, the people of Nepal and the parties concerned have achieved several historic breakthroughs, including the election of a constituent assembly and the transformation to a federal democratic republic in a relatively short period of time. Japan highly respects the progress achieved under the ownership of Nepal. However, the greater challenge is yet to be overcome. Writing the new constitution and managing the Maoist combatants as per the CPA are two fundamental conditions that will lead the peace process into a logical conclusion. Japan sincerely hopes that all the political parties eagerly engage themselves in the dialogues with the spirit of consensus, and that New Nepal, which people of Nepal as well as international society so patiently await to see, will finally be realized. Japan is ready to extend every support necessary to achieve this goal.
Would you elaborate every support necessary?
Well, by every support I mean the type of support Nepal needs and we have been providing, for e.g. the government of Japan provided ballot box for the CA election. Also our election monitoring team conducted the monitoring of the historic election here. We are also dispatching many teams of Japanese law professionals and experts from Japan to help writing of civil laws etc for new Nepal.
Tourism is a good source of income for Nepal. And the country is going to celebrate Nepal Tourism Year 2011. Many Japanese tourists visit Nepal every year.Still there is a huge potentiality to attract more Japanese tourists. How can Nepal do this?
Of course Nepal has a huge potentiality to attract more tourists from all over the world. Nepal has very beautiful mountains, blue sky and many other natural beauties. Moreover, there are many UNESCO world heritages including Lumbini, the birth place of lord Gautam Buddha.
The number of Japanese tourists to Nepal has been gradually increasing in these years, albeit not as much as expected. There are various reasons for this. The one is lack of direct flight between Nepal and Japan. Moreover, the flights between Bankok and Kathmandu are sometimes fully-booked which requires the Japanese tourists wishing to visit Nepal to wait for the flight for a long time. Additionally, building tourism friendly social infrastructure is also important. Many tourists find it irritating when there are strikes here and they are compelled to stay inside the hotel while they want to move around and enjoy the sightseeing. Therefore Nepal should pay attention to solving these problems to attract more tourists both from Japan and other countries.
Nepal’s economy is now supported by remittances. And as a developed country, Japan may have good opportunities for Nepali workers. How can Nepal take advantage of this?
Situation of labour employment varies from one country to the other. In Japan, simple labour work is not welcomed from the other courtiers. Even in Japan there are increasing numbers of job seekers under the global financial crisis. Foreigners in Japan have opportunities if they possess special skills and technique and they can contribute to the Japanese society.
In this connection I would like to add that Japan is very keen to provide possible training and education to Nepalis. If Nepalis want to study industrial technology in Japan, then they are welcome to do so through proper visa procedures.
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