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.

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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.

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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).

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With Israel
In a move enhancing the domestic energy sector, Nepal took another step that would foster its energy cooperation with Israel.

In a recent discussion, Nepal and Israel discussed ways to boost bilateral ties between the two nations, especially in the energy sector.

In a discussion with the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Benny Omer, Nepal Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun urged the former to push for Israeli investment in Nepal’s energy sector, informed Pun’s Secretariat.

“There’s demand of 10,000MW of electricity for Nepal in 10 years. We have a favorable investment climate in Nepal for investors in the energy sector. Thus, I urge the Israeli investors to consider investment in this sector,” Pun reportedly said in a statement.

In response, the Israeli Ambassador expressed Israeli Government’s willingness to invest in Nepali energy and irrigation sectors.

Reiterating his support in this regard, Omar informed that Israel has already begun quest to find interested stakeholders who could invest in the Nepali energy sector.

With Bangladesh
Meanwhile, Nepal is also gearing up for a similar cooperation with Bangladesh.

According to a recent update, Nepali Ministry for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation is planning to conclude an energy pact with Bangladesh during Bangla’s Power Minister Nasrul Hamid’s upcoming visit to Nepal.

The Bangladeshi minister is scheduled to embark on a three-day state visit to Nepal from August 9, 2018.

As the sources say, both the sides are expected to sign a MoU in this regard to form a high-level bilateral mechanism for electricity trade between the two countries and for inviting Bangladeshi investment in Nepali hydropower projects. 

It has been some time since a high-level discussion was held between the two countries regarding energy trade and investment. If the joint mechanism is formed, it will be a wonderful platform to turn the discussion into reality, reads a statement.

Both the sides have also agreed to establish secretary and joint secretary-level mechanisms in this regard.

With Myanmar
Very recently on July 31, 2018, Nepal signed another deal with Myanmar that would enhance Nepal-Myanmar bilateral ties.

At the Foreign Ministry level, both the sides signed a MoU for the establishment of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism and exemption of visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic and official (special) passports.

Nepal Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Tapas Adhikari and Myanmar Ambassador to Nepal Thiri Pyanchi U Tun Nay signed an agreement in this regard on behalf of both the nations.

During the meeting, Nepali Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and his counterpart U Myint Thu
also reviewed other key matters pertaining to bilateral relations and ways to take them further, reads an official statement.

Also Read: 

• Oli India Visit 2018: India, Nepal Strengthen Ties, Target Next-level Development
• Nepal-Uzbekistan Diplomatic Ties Established
• Nepal, Benin Establish Diplomatic Ties
• Nepal 2017 Highlights: Politics and Bilateral Relations

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In this regard, the concerned officials of both the countries have recently signed a Joint Communiqué in New York on behalf of their Heads of States and government departments, said a statement by the Nepali mission in UN.

With this, the number of Nepal’s external outreach with world nations as part of diplomatic relations reached 160.

Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to UN Nepal and Burundi, Durga Prasad Bhattarai and Albert Shingiro joined the signing ceremony.

On the occasion, the two officials held bilateral discussions on the ways to make their bilateral ties instrumental across national and global platforms.

They also discussed the scope of taking ahead the relations further on a bilateral basis and also through the frameworks such as South-south and Trilateral co-operations.

Nepal and Burundi are already the active members in various groups such as Least Developed Countries (LDC), Land-Locked Developing Countries (LLDC), Group of 77, Non-Aligned Movement and Human Rights Council of Geneva.

Besides, the two countries also served as the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and members of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2002 and 2003 as a representing their respective regions.

A Step Ahead!

Meanwhile, in another update regarding Nepal-Saudi bilateral ties, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged its support to Nepal in its infrastructure projects through financial aid and loans.

“The state-owned Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has pledged to extend a SR 30 million loan facility for infrastructure projects in Nepal,” Nepal’s newly-appointed Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mahendra Prasad Singh Rajput said in a statement.

The envoy further informed that Nepal is currently studying the clauses of a draft agreement, which will facilitate deployment of Nepalese domestic workers in this country.

“We will submit some project proposals to SFD shortly in this regard,” he added.

Speaking further on the deal, Rajput explained that Nepal is going through the proposal pertaining to labor agreement between the two countries and is keen on proceeding positively considering Saudi’s position as the top destination for Nepali migrant labor.

Hope the new deal will address the employment concerns of more number of Nepali migrant labor looking out for job in the Saudi market.

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Interview by Sai Nikesh D

Nepal has come a long way in development. As a nation sharing borders with the world’s two major economies, Nepal has been striving to become a developing country and grow further to achieve the developed country status.  As a process, the Government of Nepal has been actively participating in various global and local level platforms promoting country’s strengths and potential to development, and is sincerely aiming to see the benefits as part of its UN 2030 Agenda.

Continuing with a wide coverage on Nepal and its developments over a period, Nepali Sansar, as a Nepal-focused media house, got a chance to get in touch with Dr.Ek Raj Ojha, Senior Sustainable Development Consultant from Nepal, for a better understanding of the country’s progress towards its set goals.

Dr. Ojha, with his sound expertise in working with national and international level organizations like ADB, UN and government departments in sustainable development and planning, policy framework, among other key aspects of development and planning, shared a valuable information in this regard, helping us portray a complete picture of Nepal and its developmental path over a period and towards future.

Following are a few excerpts of Nepali Sansar Bureau’s detailed interaction with Dr. Ojha:

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With this, the number of diplomatic ties Nepal has with the world nations increased to 157.

An agreement in this regard was signed at a ceremony organized at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York on January 24, 2018.

Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to UN and his counterpart from Benin Jean-Claude F do Rego signed a document in this regard establishing Nepal-Benin diplomatic ties, said an official release.

On the occasion, envoys of both the nations expressed their commitment to expansion of the bilateral ties between the two countries while also collaborating in the international forums like United Nations, among others.

The latest update gains significance in view of the fact that Nepal has recently established its bilateral ties with two other nations including State of Eritrea and the Kingdom of Bahas.

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Here are some of the key highlights of Nepal with regard to immigration and labor migration:

Immigration

Despite many challenges, Nepal took some key decisions towards ensuring safety of Nepali migrants working in foreign destinations in 2017.

Few countries with which Nepal signed key pacts related to labor cooperation include Bahrain, Jordan, Korea, Qatar, Japan, Kuwait, among others.

While Nepalese form the largest South Asian and the sixth largest migrant populace in Japan, there was a steady rise in number of Nepali migrants in Japan every year over the last decade.

Nepalese also form the fastest growing migrant community in Australia at an annual growth rate of 27 percent, and Nepali is the second most-spoken language other than English in the state of Tasmania.

However, the Australian Government’s decision to abolish the 457 Visa Scheme for skilled migrants is likely to affect Nepalis planning to move to Australia for work. With this, beginning March 2018, prospective Nepali immigrants will need to undergo the new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa program involving a two-year short-term and a four-year medium term.

Meanwhile, in support of Nepali migrant workers, the Nepali Health Ministry has also announced plans to introduce the National Migration Health Policy.

“This policy will provide an opportunity to promote a more coherent and integrated approach to heal, beyond the treatment of specific diseases for all populations, including migrants, irrespective of their legal and migratory status,” says Paul Norton, Chief of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Nepal.

Towards skill development for migrants, the Labor Ministry of Nepal has also requested the International Labor Organization (ILO) to initiate result-oriented projects in the country.

Highlighting that the Nepali youth migrating for foreign employment are in need of skill development programs, the Secretary at the Nepali Ministry of Labor and Employment Laxman Prasad Mainali had also urged ILO Director to ensure safety of Nepali migrant labor working at foreign destinations.

Mainali made this proposal as part of his participation at the 331^st governing board meeting of ILO held in Geneva in the first week of November 2017.

As a major immigration-related update in 2017, the Nepali Government announced passports to the foreign-born Nepali children. The government took an official decision in this regard at a council of ministers meeting held in Kathmandu on September 11, 2017.

Other Key Highlights

In a major update to the world, Nepal also joined the list of countries that signed the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty in 2017.

Nepal singed the treaty on September 21, 2017 as part of its participation at the 72^nd UNGA session in New York.

“It is a good step towards nuclear disarmament”, said the Nepali Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal as he informed that Nepal’s stand on the disarmament of weapons causing mass destruction remains consistent and principled.

On the similar occasion, Nepal also won its long-awaited UN Human Rights Council membership. UN declared Nepal as UNHRC member on October 16, 2017 for the 2018-2020 term.

“Nepal’s first-ever election to the Council would be a recognition to the country’s long commitment and contribution in the field of human rights and an encouragement to do more at national as well as global levels,” says Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Making a conservation history, Nepal, in August 2017, became the first country to launch climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan, leading the way in safeguarding its endangered species and habitat, ahead of the International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum in Kyrgyzstan.

In another major update related to conservation of endangered species, Nepal has also released its six captive-reared critically-endangered species of white-rumped vultures into the wild on November 9, 2017.

Besides, in a move towards tiger conservation, Nepal joined India for a first-of-its-kind exercise to estimate tiger population in both the countries.

These are some of the key among various other updates related to Nepal in 2017.

Previous

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Fighting back social challenges and natural calamities, Nepal, in 2017, made major strides in almost all areas including inclusive development, industry and commerce, economy, politics, human rights, among various others.

Here are some of the key highlights of major developments in Nepal in 2017:

Bilateral Ties and Key Pacts

2017 has been a prosperous year for Nepal in building its image in the global arena through diplomatic ties.

On December 19, 2017, Nepal completed 60 years of its diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.

US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz (In Right)

The United States Embassy also celebrated 70 years of US-Nepal bilateral relationship on December 13, 2017.

Besides strengthening existing ties, Nepal also began its diplomatic relations with nations such as State of Eretria, Uganda and Kingdom of Bahamas.

Very recently, a new friendship association to boost Nepal-Myanmar diplomatic ties was also formed. The Myanmar-Nepal Friendship Association is the first such group formed since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1960.

Nepal also signed bilateral partnerships with various countries for cooperation across different sectors.

Nepali Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi and the Ambassador of Morocco to Nepal Mohamed Maliki signed a MoU for the formation of a bilateral consultation mechanism between Nepal and Morocco on August 3, 2017.

Nepal has also signed a Bilateral Labor Agreement with Jordan on October 18, 2017.

         Indian Businessmen Invited to Invest in Nepal

The Government of India also promised its investment in the Nepali industry.

In response, the Government of Nepal has very recently welcomed the Indian business community to invest in Nepal.

“It’s an opportune time to invest in Nepal with bilateral trade on the upswing,” says Embassy of Nepal Charge d’Affairs Bharat Kumar Regmi.

Japan and the United States also promised assistance and funding for the development of Nepali education sector.

In a move enhancing its diplomatic ties with Nepal, the Parliament of Brazil has also formed a six-member Brazil-Nepal Parliamentary Group.

This is the first such Group in the history of Nepal-Brazil ties and is formed as a result of the recently-approved statute to promote inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

In a recent meeting on December 25, 2017, Oman and Nepal discussed bilateral cooperation across various sectors, wherein, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of Oman Ahmed Hassan Al-Dheeb welcomed collaboration with the Nepali business community across various sectors.

Earlier, Nepal had also expressed willingness to send its labor to work in Oman thus enhancing the Oman-Nepal labor cooperation.

With an aim to boost the Nepal-Austria bilateral ties, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (AFEC) had also signed a MoU on October 31, 2017.

The new collaboration will focus on enhancing private sector collaboration for promoting trade, commerce and technology transfer between the two countries.

Here, it is noteworthy that the leftist alliance, which will form the next Nepali Government, has recently announced that the new Nepali Government will maintain Nepal’s diplomatic relations with neighboring nations based on independent foreign policy.

Politics

2017 has changed the political landscape of Nepal and has, in fact, emerged as the game-changer year for the country.

Local-level polls and legislative polls, the most-awaited elections for Nepal and its citizens, were successfully held in 2017. These elections were held in the country for the first time in the last 20 years.

The local polls were held in three phases with the first two phases on May 14 and June 28, and the third phase on September 18, 2017.

Another major milestone for Nepal is the two-phase country’s parliamentary and provincial polls held on November 26, 2017 and December 7, 2017, respectively. In this election, Nepali politics saw major political shifts with the Communist alliance winning the game finally to form the next government.

Interestingly, the red flag (left parties) registered grand victory in both the landmark polls of Nepal.

Next

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The United States Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz said this in her address at a monthly lecture and policy discussion series on US-Nepal bilateral relationship: The Next 70 Years and Beyond, held in Kathmandu on December 19, 2017.

Collaborative partnership towards ensuring transparency and accountability, and successful inclusion of women and marginalized communities are among other key areas of cooperation for both the nations in the future, Alaina added.

Stating that both the nations have already started redesigning their development strategies, she called on the Government of Nepal to ensure an investor-friendly environment to attract more investment.

In this regard, she urged the new Nepali Government, led by the Communist Alliance, to introduce investor-friendly foreign investment bill and agro-business promotion bill to ensure Nepal’s overall economic development.

The former Nepali Ambassador to US Shankar Sharma highlighted US’ potential in tourism, among other areas, while also highlighting Nepal’s strength in export of goods to US.

“Although China and India are set to emerge as the world’s largest economies in coming years, the position of US will be more valuable for Nepal even in the days to come,” read Shankar’s official statement.

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