The deal is aimed at strengthening friendship, culture, promote exchanges, knowledge sharing and other activities between the two.

UPF Nepal’s President Ek Nath Dhakal and UPF USA Chairman Dr Michael Jenkins signed the MoU agreement at UPF USA’s office in New York, informed UPF Nepal in an official release.

UPF Nepal further informed that the federation has been working for the promotion of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

 “The MOU will bring people of the two friendly nations, Nepal and USA, closer for mutual benefit,” Santosh Paudel, Vice-President of UPF Nepal, said in a statement.

UPF, as an international and inter-religious network including organizations and individuals, has representatives coming from diverse sectors working for the common goal of universal peace.

The post Nepal, US Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

This became evident in the recent announcement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) about PM’s plans to visit smaller nations.

According to MoFA, PM Oli is embarking on a bilateral visit to Vietnam and Cambodia during  May 09-15, 2019, upon invitations from the heads of two states Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Cambodia PM Hun Sen.

Visit to Vietnam has been scheduled for May 09-13, 2019 and Cambodia trip will be during May 13-15, 2019.

15-point Joint Statement with Cambodia

Nepal and Cambodia have issued a 15-point joint statement with regard to PM Oli’s visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia on May 15, 2019.

As part of his three-day visit, Oli held discussions with the President of the Senate and Acting Head of State Samdech Vibol Sena Pheakdei Say Chhum, and also met Cambodian President of the National Assembly, Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakkrei Heng Samrin,

Nepal PM also participated in a bilateral discussion with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, on a wide range of issues related to mutual interest such as trade and economy, investment, tourism, culture, among others.

As part of discussions, the two sides also signed the Framework Agreement on Trade and Investment Kingdom of Cambodia and Government of Nepal, along with a MoU between the Chamber of Commerce departments of two countries.

The two leaders also address the Cambodia-Nepal Business Forum with prime focus on trade and business cooperation.

Oli will be back to Nepal on 15th May 2019 after his 8-day official visit to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Oli Addresses ‘UN Vesak Day-2019’ in Vietnam

As part of the Vietnam visit, Nepal PM Oli addressed the UN Vesak Day-2019 program held in Ha Nam Province of Vietnam on May 12, 2019.

Speaking on the occasion, PM said his country stands for Buddhism and welcomed Vietnamese to visit Nepal’s Lumbini at least once in lifetime.

The three-day program is being held under the slogan: ‘Buddhist approach to global leadership and shared responsibility for a sustainable society’.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also said Vietnam holds responsibility of upholding peace and harmony in the world.

President of Myanmar Uwin Myint also stressed on the significance of Buddhist teaching and its application in daily routine.

Speaking on the occasion, the International Council for the Day of Vesak (ICDV) President Prof Dr Phra Bramapundit said the event holds high significance at the international level as a means to spread the message of peace and harmony.

Oli is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Phuc and also meet the President of the Vietnam National Assembly, followed by Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Nepal-Vietnam Business Forum in Ha Noi.

The two sides are also scheduled to sign key bilateral agreements and MoUs that contribute to the promotion of bilateral relations between the two nations.

Similar kind of meetings are also scheduled to happen during Cambodia visit.

Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Chief Advisor and Foreign Affairs Advisor to PM Bishnu Rimal, MPs, high-profile government officials, local body & private sector representatives, and media are going to accompany PM Oli in his bilateral visits.

These trips to smaller nations come as high significance for Nepal in view of the country’s regular visits and deals with Asian giants.

The post PM Oli Embarks on Bilateral Visits to Vietnam, Cambodia appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As part of the discussions, Taiwan External Trade Development Council and Nepali business delegation discussed on ways to explore investment and trade expansion between the two nations.

The meeting saw a seven-member Taiwanese delegation including reputed producers & suppliers and more than 100 Nepali businessmen and buyers.

The Taiwanese delegation were in Nepal to promote their products in Nepali market.

According to the Council’s representative for Nepal Darshan Neupane said the discussions majorly focused on solar energy cooperation, food products & beverages, products related to digital display, CCTV camera equipment, construction tools and other manufacturing processes.

Taiwanese delegation has been holding similar kind of interactions with India and Bangladesh as part of their product promotion in respective markets.

The new discussions are most likely to open new ways for enhanced Nepal-Taiwan bilateral cooperation.

The post Nepal, Taiwan Discuss Trade and Investment appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Marking the day, the officials of both the nations organized a special event to celebrate the 60 years of Nepal-Pak bilateral ties.

Nepali Ambassador Sewa Lamsal and Maurizio Romani of Islamabad Marriott Hotel hosted a special reception in Islamabad to mark the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Pakistan.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, who attended the reception as its chief guest, reviewed the 60-year-old friendly relations between the two nations.

She said Nepal-Pak bilateral ties have been steadily growing and can grow further with strong cooperation in various potential fields.

The Ambassador, in her speech, emphasized on the people-to-people ties between the two nations, besides government-level bilateral relations.

A Quick Glance at Nepal-Pak Ties

Nepal-Pak ties started moving to the next level with the establishment of the Nepali Embassy in Islamabad in 1967.

Over the years, the two nations have been sharing common views on a wide range of global issues and have been closely associated at various international and regional bilateral and multilateral forums such as UN, SAARC, and NAM.

Coming to business ties, many Pakistani investors hold joint ventures with their Nepali counterparts in various Nepali sectors such as hotels, textile, and banking, among others.

File Photo: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli & Pakistan PM PM Imran Khan

Bilateral trade is one area of significance between the two countries. Nepal exports to Pakistan include a wide range of items such as black tea, leather, woollen shawls, medicinal herbs and cardamom, and more.

Besides, the Himalayan nation also imports refined leather, medicines and medical equipment, footwear, dried fruits, spices, plastic lab equipment, textiles, accumulators, carding machines and appliances, and more from Pakistan.

In the field of education, Pakistan has been offering educational scholarships to Nepali students under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme (PTAP).

More than 500 Nepali students are pursuing higher education in Pakistan in Information Technology, Medical Science, Pharmacy, Social Science, Management and Mass Communication, among other fields of study.

As part of government-government cooperation, Pakistan also offers long and short term trainings to Nepali government officials. Nepal-Pakistan Friendship & Cultural Association in Kathmandu and Nepal Friendship Group have been working for cultural ties between the two nations.

These are some of the key areas that speak the 60-year-old Nepal-Pak bilateral relations.

Wish the cooperation will go a long way with next-level cooperation in various fields benefitting either sides in overall development in the years to come!

The post Nepal, Pakistan Celebrate 60 Years of Bilateral Ties appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Bikal Poudel, Head of the Security Printing division under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC), signed a MoU with a French Government undertaking ‘INGROUPE’ on March 09, 2019.

This agreement, part of two MoUs that Nepal and France have signed, will provide Nepal with the state-of-the-art security printing facility under French assistance.

The facility will help Nepal print its own passports, currency notes, smart cards and all kinds of government material that the nation requires, saving billions of spending annually.

“A detailed project report has already been prepared,” said Poudel in a statement, while informing that the new facility would be set up at the Information and Technology Park in Banepa, Kavre.

The project site will have separate building blocks including a bullet-proof one for printing currency notes, say the sources associated with the project.

The two sides are likely to sign the final agreement during PM Oli’s upcoming visit to France in the month of June 2019.

As per the current discussions on financial modality, the project will most likely be technology transfer based on build-operate-and-transfer model or FDI or loan assistance from France.

“We have yet to conclude detailed negotiations on the security printing project. It is yet to be negotiated with the French side on investment modality, technical details, among others. As of our estimates, it would cost around $300 million to set up the facilities,” Poudel adds.

Nepal’s Own Satellite Project

Meanwhile, French Government is also stepping up its financial and technical support to Nepal for the latter’s own satellite project.

Under the initiative, France will help Nepal in materializing plans to operate and manage its dedicated satellite in the orbital slot allotted by the International Tele Communications Union (ITU).

According to Nepal’s MoIC, Nepal hasn’t been able to utilize this opportunity due to lack of needed technical and financial assistance.

Two Projects at NPR 50 Billion

As the sources say, the investment for two projects will most likely touch an estimated NPR 50 billion.

As per the current estimates, the security printing facility project will need NPR 30 billion investment and around NPR 20 billion for the satellite project.

More to come…Stay tuned for more such exciting Nepal news updates!

Related Article:

• Nepal to Launch Own Satellites by May 2019

The post Nepal Eyes Self-reliance in Security Printing, Satellite Setup appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Karin’s visit is happening as a result of invitation from Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, and marks the first ministerial visit from Austria in the last 30 years.

A total of 13 members including five journalists are accompanying the Austrian Minister in her bilateral visit, informed Nepal Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal.

As part of the visit, Karin’s team will hold a ministry-level meet with her Nepali counterpart and his team.

Discussions are expected to be majorly on bilateral interests and matters of mutual cooperation that are of regional and international significance.

As part of the visit, Karin is also scheduled to call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

She will also be part of a program to be organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs.

A Quick Glance at Nepal-Austria Ties

Nepal and Austria had good number of discussions on different areas of cooperation in the recent past.

Nepal Tourism Board and Trekking Agents Association of Nepal jointly hosted Alpinmesse Forum in Innsbruck (Austria) during Oct 20-21, 2018, with an aim to introduce Nepal’s adventure tourism to Austria’s populace.

That was Nepali delegation’s first-ever participation in the fair aimed at promoting Nepal’s potential in adventure sports activities.

This program also saw the active participation of Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN) Austria.

Besides, the business fraternity of two sides had also met in November 2017 to sing agreements pertaining to enhancement of business-business, trade and investment cooperation.

Prior to the latest visit, Gyawali and Karin Kneissl had met for bilateral discussions  earlier in September 2018.

2019 marks the 60^th year of establishment of Nepal-Austria bilateral relations.

The post Austria Foreign Minister Visits Nepal, First Ministry-level Visit in 30 years! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari, along with various other lawmakers of the related thematic committee in Nepali Parliament and senior government officials, is going to represent Nepal at the conference.

Currently, the preparations are underway for the President’s Poland visit from December 1-5, 2018, informed the country’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

As part of the conference, President Bhandari would make a strong pitch to the global audience about climate change concerns for human life, especially to those in the underdeveloped countries like Nepal, despite its contribution to the menace.

In this regard, Bhandari will also inform the global community about Nepal’s climate change challenges and its efforts over the period towards mitigating associated risks.

Gyawali on Japan Visit
Prior to President’s trip, Gyawali is also going on a separate bilateral visit to Japan November 17, 2018.

Accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board of Nepal, Gyawali’s trip is also focused on Japanese investment in Nepal besides infrastructure projects.

“We will explore the possibility of Japanese investment in road, railway and modernization of agriculture. Discussions will also be held to explore the possibility of sending skilled and semi-skilled Nepali workers to Japanese job market,” said Gyawali.

As part of the trip, Gyawali will also participate in a meeting with the Japan-Nepal Parliamentary Forum officials and Nepali diaspora in Japan, among others.

During this visit, the Foreign Minister will also visit Osaka to see the status of development projects and also assess the possibility of bringing in Japanese technology to Nepal.

On his way back from the Japanese trip, Gyawali is scheduled to visit Thailand to have a glance at activities of the Nepalese Embassy in Bangkok. Besides, he will also hold meeting with government officials and representatives of various Asia-Pacific regional offices in Bangkok.

Hope the aforementioned foreign visits add to the global stature of Nepal and also contribute to the local development.

The post Nepal Hopeful on Foreign Visits, High on COP 24 appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepal is currently pursuing ways to work out the plan under a government-government deal between the two countries.

Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali is expected to discuss about the same with Japanese government authorities in his upcoming bilateral visit to Japan on November 17, 2018.

“We want to have government to government deal in this respect,” said Gyawali in an official statement, while informing that the agreement involves both skilled and unskilled Nepali workers.

Besides the labor deal, Nepal is also looking at opportunities from Japan’s agro-based technology and also discuss key aspects of Nepal-Japan bilateral ties as part of the meeting, informed the Minister.

Gyawali on Recent Developments in South Asia
Speaking to the media, Gyawali also spoke on some recent developments in South Asian countries pertaining to Bhutan and Sri Lanka. “It was interesting development taking place in Bhutan where democracy is thriving,” said Gyawali, adding that they are also closely watching Sri Lanka without making any emphasis on its internal affairs.

As part of the press conference, Gyawali emphasized on Nepal’s long-standing position on Bhutanese refugees calling for preservation of their rights to return to homeland.

“I met with senior officials from International Migration Organization (IOM) and UN refugee agency. Our position is clear, those left (around 6,900) should be repatriated to Bhutan and others settled in third country, should have rights to return to Bhutan,” said Gyawali.

Speaking further on UN and IMO’s assurance to repatriate the refugees, Gyawali said, “I will remind you all one thing, while in the initial days of their third country settlement, UN refugee agency and IOM had assured us they would lobby with Bhutan for repatriation of those left in camps.”

“It is sad to see that their assurance has not worked yet. The old and helpless people are living in camps now. They should return to Bhutan,” he added.

In this regard, he said Nepal Government will speak with the new Bhutanese Government on the repatriation of all those Bhutanese refugees lying in refugee camps of the eastern district of Nepal in Jhapa.

Striking out misconceptions on support to refugees, Gyawali said Nepal Government has done its best to the refugees and every contribution has to be taken into consideration when it comes to local support.

Gyawali also informed about the appointment of new ambassadors soon and announced about President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s Poland visit from December 1-5, 2018 for the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP 24).

The post Nepal’s Labor Deal with Japan, Stand on South Asia Developments appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Ethiopian Ambassador to Nepal Asfaw Dingamo Kame has reportedly proposed a deal with Nepal Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari to sign a strategic alliance with NAC, in a meeting in Kathmandu last week.

This deal with NAC comes as part of the African airlines’ strategy to set up multiple hubs beyond its region. As an owner of a fleet that accommodates 108 aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines is currently serving 125 international and domestic destinations.

The latest news also gains significance in view of Adhikari’s recent update to Nepal Parliament about government’s plans for a strategic alliance with a foreign aviation partner.

However, details about the deal are yet to be officially announced.

“We need to sign an air service agreement first to form a partnership to invest in Nepal Airlines. We can also start with a code share agreement,” Ambassador Kame said in a statement.

A Strategic Move
The latest proposal is Nepal Government decade-long wish to bring in a foreign aviation partner for NAC and is coming at a time when the Nepal Government is also planning to revamp NAC into a company before signing a deal with foreign partner.

On the other hand, the Finance Ministry has already recommended induction of the foreign strategic partner with maximum benefits to NAC under the partnership.

Tourism entrepreneur and a former member of NAC Ashok Pokhrel feels that the foreign alliance will add to the brand value of NAC and also supports it financially.

“We have been hearing for a long time that the government is inducting a foreign strategic partner at NAC. The plan, however, has remained on paper only. But it’s not too late. The government should act promptly before the airline is put into financial stress,” Ashok Pokhrel said in a statement.

“At a time when NAC has been facing criticism for its failure to assure quality and efficiency, a strategic partner, if it is a globally reputed company, can help the carrier to win business globally,” he adds.

Nepal-Ethiopia Ties Growing!
Kame also held discussions with Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali regarding Nepal-Ethiopia partnership in forming a bilateral consultative mechanism and carrying out a parliamentary exchange program, among other areas.

Speaking to local media, the Ethiopian official explained that the two countries haven’t exchanged much in partnership since they established diplomatic ties in 1964.

However, the bilateral partnership gained momentum with the establishment of Ethiopia’s honorary consul in Nepal in 2015.

Ethiopia has also urged Nepal to establish its residential mission in the capital Addis Ababa, the area that also hosts the Secretariat of the African Union.

The Background
Nepal Government initiated this plan to bring in a foreign partner in 2007 with an aim to handover NAC’s management to that strategic partner.

Prior to that, the then Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) had invited experts from Air France in 1970 as part of a program to improve NAC management. And, the partnership gave RNAC its first jet, Boeing 727.

Later in 2015, nearly 21 foreign firms applied Letter of Intents (LoIs) to offer world-class management consultancy services to NAC, but the plan didn’t work out.

Later in 2016, the government invited request for proposals from renowned carriers from US, UK, France, Germany and Australia, and only one carrier turned out with Rs688.67 million worth proposal.

Then the Finance Ministry turned it down and then decided to a set up a fresh committee, which again failed with the government pitching for ‘multiple modality options’ before sealing the deal.

While officials are of the view that the deal should be held on a global competition, Ethiopia proposed it under government-to-government procedure.

Now, its government’s turn to react in an appropriate way!

The post Africa’s Largest Air Carrier Proposes Deal with Nepal Airlines appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Jayanagar-Kurtha railway link will link Nepal to India across a 34 km stretch, carrying both passenger and freight.

Even though the first train will carry only passengers, Nepal proposed that the aforementioned railway link be opened for transport of passengers and freight

An immigration check-post may be established at the Indian side, managed by the Indian Bureau of Immigration or the State Government.

However, no Indian or Nepalese nationals crossing travelling the stretch will require a visa.

Nepali authorities informed the Indian railways that the section will be functional with four trips and between 8-16 hour shifts.

Additionally, the Indian side will lease coaches, rakes, rolling stock and others to the Himalayan nation for the transport of cargo across the line.

5.5 Billion Project
The Jayanagar-Kurtha railway line is being established at a cost of INR 5.5 billion and in three phases.

The first phase involves the construction of a 34-km segment between Jayanagar and Kurtha, followed by the second phase including an 18-km segment between Kurtha-Bhangaha in Mahottari district and third one involving a 17-km segment from Bhangaha to Bardibas.

Interestingly, only three kilometers of the section is in the Indian territory.

Background
The original 52-km Jayanagar-Kurtha line was first built during the British rule to transport logs from Mahottari forests to India.

Nepal and India agreed on the construction of four railway lines including Jayanagar-Kurtha and Raxaul-Kathmandu

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