Interview by  Sai Nikesh D

Nepal is one country that has been in news since the recent past for its fast-paced development.

From witnessing the formation of new governance after a long political struggle to making strategic moves in the form of bilateral ties with foreign nations, Nepal is undoubtedly in the path of an all-round development in all aspects.

Adding to the country’s development path exists the Asia’s premiere diplomacy institute, the almighty ‘Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs’ (AIDIA).

In a milestone step as part of our coverage on this fast-developing nation, Nepali Sansar Bureau (NSB) got a chance to get in touch with Mr. Sunil K.C, Founder and CEO of AIDIA.

From being an entrepreneur with sound expertise in the fields of mass communication, journalism and geopolitics, Mr. Sunil has been continuously watching different phases of Nepal’s development, internally and externally.

In an exclusive interview with NSB, the AIDIA Chief shared his valuable thoughts about the country’s all-round development both externally and internally, alongside highlighting key focus areas that Nepal needs to recognize its full potential and AIDIA’s support in the process.

Here are some of the excerpts from the interview:

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The seminar titled ‘Nepal–India Think Tank Summit (NITTS) 2018’ was organized by AIDIA and Nehru Memorial Museum Library (NMML) in Kathmandu on July 31, 2018.

An official release informed that the summit will work on cooperation in key areas through regular dialogues and institutional collaboration on resource-sharing for joint events between think-tanks of the two countries.

“The Summit will for the first time address the need for greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Nepali and Indian think tanks as well as the particular problem of bridging the gap between think tanks and policymakers,” AIDIA said in a statement.

According to AIDIA, the ever-growing political and socioeconomic challenges are limiting the scope for thinking and planning.

In view of that fact, the Summit will start showcasing the role of think-tanks in transforming Nepal-India bilateral relations.

The summit is bringing together think-tanks, government representatives, diplomatic missions, policy makers, academicians, business sectors and media to discuss on making meaningful conclusions and recommendations.  

‘Look South’ Policy
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, the Director of Think-tank India Foundation Ram Madhav said oceans can play a vital role in Nepal’s development considering the importance of water connectivity.

In this regard, he called on Nepal to adopt the ‘Look South’ policy to gain advantage of better connectivity through Indian Ocean.

Terming Indian Ocean as the most-happening aspect, Ram Madhav urged Nepal to get the best of the Ocean by tapping its potential using Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port and India’s Calcutta Port.

Speaking further on Indian Government’s move towards supporting neighboring nations, Madhav informed that India is committed to support Nepal and has extended its support in the latter’s efforts to progress in the path of parliamentary democracy. 

Key objectives of the summit include:

• Exploring the role of think-tanks in shaping Indo-Nepal relations;
• Encouraging active collaboration on research, publication, sharing of information, human resource and finance to promote joint events between the participating think-tanks and supports evidence-based policymaking;
• Gaining a better understanding of the organizational and policy challenges facing think tanks and policymakers in Nepal and India;
• Identifying the most pressing policy challenges and bilateral issues related to political, economic and security between Nepal and India in the current scenario and the ways to tackle these for promoting mutually inclusive bilateral relations;

AIDIA is planning similar summits every year under the single agenda of strengthening bilateral ties.

“The Summit is proposed to become an annual feature for the participating organizations and will be hosted alternatively each year in Nepal and India respectively. Important issues encountering Nepal–India ties and emerging issues in regional/international level will form the specific themes of the Summit each year,” informed an official release.               

This year’s Summit on July 31, 2018 saw the participation of  Former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as its chief guest, along with other key dignitaries including Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, AIDIA Founder Sunil KC and Director of India Foundation and BJP National General Secretary and India Think-tank Director Ram Madhav, among others.

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In a roundtable meeting held by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) on July 17, 2018, the two sides discussed about trade, business and investment opportunities for Nepalis in Zimbabwe.

The event held to welcome Zimbabwe Ambassador to India Maxwell Ranga in Kathmandu saw key officials of both the countries presenting their own capabilities for business cooperation.

In his address at the meet, Managing Director of Nepal Overseas Co. Pvt. Ltd. Pawan Kumar Agrawal said the Ambassador’s visit to Kathmandu will enhance Nepal-Zimbabwe ties and expressed Nepal’s readiness to explore Zimbabwe’s potential opportunities across agriculture, tourism and mining industries. 

In response, Ranga highlighted his country’s significance as a key center for entire African region and welcomed Nepalis to also pursue investment scope in manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, pharmaceutical, ICT, among other sectors.

“Recently lithium has been discovered in Zimbabwe which makes this sector more attractive to the investors,” said Ranga highlighting mining as the country’s key sector with high investment scope, and assured investor-friendly environment for potential investors.

“Now, we started growing on our own with the support of Eastern countries like China, India, Russia breaking the isolationism,” added Ranga.

Nepal’s former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Ganesh Shah said that the recent discovery of Lithium has added to Zimbabwe’s existing potential in mining sector.

AIDIA CEO Sunil KC lauded his organization’s continued support to Nepal in facilitating meetings towards strengthening the country’s diplomatic ties.

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The officials of both the countries took part in a round table meeting titled ‘Nepal-Zambia Relation: The Future Ahead’ jointly hosted by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) and the High Commission Republic of Zambia, New Delhi. 

As part of the discussion, AIDIA CEO Sunil KC highlighted ‘opportunities for bilateral trade and investment in Zambia’ as the key objective of this bilateral meeting.

Meanwhile, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Zambia to Nepal Judith K K Kan’goma Kapijimpanga, in her keynote address, noted similarities between the two countries and highlighted agriculture and tourism as the key sectors for both the economies.

Judith also spoke about investment potential and related benefits that the Zambian economy offers with its conducive political environment and advantage of being a gateway to Southern, Central and Eastern African regions.

Ganesh Shah, Former Nepali Minister for Environment, Science and Technology and Bishnu Hari Nepal, Former Nepali Ambassador of Nepal were among key delegates present.

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