NC seeks support of small communist parties

Kathmandu, 30 July: Nepali Congress (NC) Friday morning lobbied for support of splinter communist groups in parliament for Vice-chairman Ram Chandra Paudel, the party’s candidate for Monday’s runoff election for prime minister.
Paudel and Maoist Chairman Prachanda are the only candidates contest.
The vote will again be inconclusive should UML again abstain in the vote.
NC needs the support of both UML and the Madesh parties for Paudel’s victory.
NC leaders began meeting Friday to draft its written reply to 16 demands of the front of four terai parties who said they will support the party that supports its demands, including One Madesh, One lPradessh and self-determination.
Maoists have rejected the demand for One Madesh, One Pradesh.
Maoists and NC Friday again rejected a request of UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal to Prachanda and Paudel to withdraw their candidacies for national consensus.
Nnnn

Employees Provident Fund to invest in Upper Tamakoshi

Kathmandu, 30 July: Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is investing Rs 12 billion in the Rs 35 billion 456MW Upper Tamakoshi hydro power project.
A loan agreement is being signed with Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Friday.
NEA has already signed invest agreements with Citizens Investment Fund, Nepal Government and Nepal Insurance Corporation.
nnnn

Tiger count reaches 155; Indo-Nepal agreement

Kathmandu, 30 July: The tiger count in Nepal has increased to 155 with 34 more cats recorded this year.
A census is conducted once in two years.
The survey was extended to cover the Chure hills this year.
The survey was conducted by National Park and Wildlife Conservation Department.
Meanwhile, Nepal and India Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to curb illegal trade in wildlife and strengthen conservation activities coinciding with Tiger Day.
nnnn

Kamal Thapa on European tour

Kathmandu, 30 July: RPP-Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa Thursday left of a three-week tour of several European countries, the party said.
He will be visiting Great Britain and Germany.
Nnnn

Govt. effort to bring back 11 students jailed in Zimbabwe

Kathmandu, 30 July: Government has started diplomatic initiatives to bring back 11 Nepali students jailed in Zimbabwe, Kantipur reports.
Foreign ministry said the students are Nepalis and has written to the Zimbabwe government to pardon them and send them back home.
nnnn


• HOME
• NATION Efforts to open new embassies
• OPED
• EDITORIAL
KATHMANDU, July 30:
If everything goes as planned, Nepal will open diplomatic missions within a year in seven countries where the population of Nepalis is increasing. The idea is also to bolster trade and investment.

While Nepal has 32 diplomatic missions currently, it has a policy of opening one in a country where the population of Nepali nationals crosses the 5,000 mark.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is holding talks with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in this regard. The MoF’s prior approval is a must when opening a mission abroad. According to officials, talks are headed for the right direction.

Three SAARC countries—Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan—top the priority list.

“The Nepalese population in Afghanistan is increasing and we are planning to open missions in some countries within SAARC,” a MoFA official told the Post.

Last year, Nepal opened diplomatic missions in Kuwait, Brazil, South Africa and Canada.

A team of MoFA formed to prepare an ‘Organisation and Management’ report and led by Joint Secretary Dhananjaya Jha will come up with the need to open more missions.

“There is a general impression that opening new missions is spending money unnecessarily; this is not true. Most of our missions are earning good money through consular and visa work,” the official said.

“Any stable government can take a call in this regard while we can easily open three-men missions in the beginning,” the official added.

Another MoFA official told the Post that Singapore is another country in the priority list.

“Singapore is the third largest importing port of Nepal after India and China. More than 15,000 Nepalis are currently working there. While Singapore and Nepal have direct air connection, the country’s new policy to attract medium-level work force could lure more Nepalis there,” the official said.

“Our policy has been opening new diplomatic missions and we are always open to extending our presence across the globe,” Harish Chandra Ghimire, the assistant spokesperson of the ministry, said.

Another target is Spain where the Nepali population has crossed the 100,000 mark.

Also, due to a large presence of Nepalis in Oman, the ministry is working to open a mission there. Opening of two Consulate General offices in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Guangzhou in China is also on the cards.
nnnn

Initiative to get British PM to visit Nepal

Kathmandu, 30 July: Nepali Ambassador to the United Kingdom Dr Suresh Chalise called on British Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans Andrew Robathan in London and discussed UK-Nepal military relations and issue of the Gurkhas in the British force, The Himalayan Times reports.
Robathan assured the Nepali ambassador that his office would make utmost efforts to see the British prime minister visiting Nepal in the future.
Nepal is yet to host any British prime minister even as the bilateral relations between the two countries date back to 1816.
Nnnn



MEDIA GOOGLE

“The government was a desperate failure, as it was not formed on the basis of national consensus. It also failed to perform as per people’s aspirations.”

(Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, The Himalayan Times, 30 July)

“Although the UML has decided not to vote any of the prime ministerial candidates, I am still hopeful that they will change their earlier decision and vote for our candidate, The UML has no other option but to support the NC candidate as the NC had extended unwavering support to the UML’s senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal last year.’

(Sher Bahadur Deuba, The Himalayan Times, 30 July)

‘The relationship of the constituent assembly with the people was broken 28 May when it extended its tenure by one year demonstrating collective failure. This is not the people’s assembly.”

(Yubaraj Ghimere, Annapurna Post, 30 July)
nnnn