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A Nepalese government delegation is slated to visit the United States in the near future for special bilateral trading arrangement, seeking zero-tariff facility for Nepal’s key exports and support for infrastructure development. The team will mainly discuss on Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) – a pact that US Trade Representative (USTR) Office has prescribed for Nepal to win special market access facility in the world’s largest economy. It will also push for zero-duty for Nepal’s dying readymade garment industry, apprise investors and officials there about investment avenues and opportunities here and seek assistance for trade related infrastructure development. The main purpose of the visit is to get a tangible and formal public and private links established so that economic engagements between the two countries could be rejuvenated.
Nepal’s economic ties with the USA strengthened after the diplomatic relations on 25th April 1947. Exchange of high level visits has also significantly contributed to strengthen the Nepal-US relations. USA has always been very cooperative to develop the socio-economic status of Nepal. The Commerce and Friendship agreement signed in 1947, General Agreement for Technical Cooperation signed in 1951 have contributed to consolidate bilateral ties between the two countries.
Recently, the US has shown interest in investments in Nepal. It has been learnt that US wants to enter into a bilateral trade agreement with Nepal that promises to boost Nepalese in a significant manner. Just to recapitulate, the draft proposal was presented by a team of US Trade Representatives (USTR) to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies of the Government of Nepal some time back..
Read full story at: thehimalayantimes.com
Humanitarian agencies in Nepal Wednesday appealed for US$ 123.5 million (approximately 9 billion rupees) fund projects to assist more than 3.4 million vulnerable people across the country who are in need of life-saving assistance, including food aid, in 2010.
“Nearly half of Nepal’s districts are experiencing food shortages and the humanitarian country team estimates that nearly 2.5 million people face extreme food insecurity, mainly in the Mid and far-western hill and mountain regions,” a statement issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
The appealing organisations are seven United Nations agencies working in Nepal and three non-governmental organisations.
Strengthening preparedness and early warning systems to reduce the number of people affected by future disasters is also a priority, OCHA said, adding that Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, including floods, landslides and earthquakes.
In 2009, some 152,000 people were affected by monsoon floods and landslides and preparedness activities in water, sanitation and hygiene are also needed following a severe diarrhoea outbreak in western districts of Nepal last year, the UN humanitarian agency said.
Read full story at: nepalnews.com
KATHMANDU, Mar 10: As concerns over climate change and its adverse impact on socio-economy start finding way in policy documents, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has stepped ahead to assist Nepal on those looming challenges.
ADB that recently came up with country partnership strategy (CPS) for 2010-2012 has for the first time incorporated climate change and environmental sustainability as one of its pillars of operations in Nepal.
The bank attributes Nepal as one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters and exposed to adversities of climate change for the shift in this priority.
“Climate change has exposed country´s agricultural and hydro-resources to serious risks. In dry seasons, the country suffers from water scarcity and there is also a risk of glacier lakes exploding,” says Barry J Hitchcock, country director of ADB Nepal.
The new pledge from one of the leading multilateral donors has come at a time when natural disasters from floods and landslides during monsoon have become a common phenomenon. Excessive pumping out of ground water too has depleted underground water level, posing particular threats to water management and agriculture.
Read full story at: myrepublica.com
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
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