Economic cooperation stressed for intra-regional trade, investment

Kathmandu, Dec. 5

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal has highlighted the need of an enlightened approach for economic cooperation in the Indian Ocean region which can enhance intra-regional trade and investments.

Addressing the 5^th Indian Ocean Conference held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, he stressed on the need of international and regional support for the landlocked developing countries to enhance their capacity for reaping the benefits of the ocean.

He said that it was necessary to link Nepal’s highlands with the Indian Ocean with seamless hardware and software of connectivity, informed the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement.

"Linking our highlands with the Indian Ocean with seamless ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ of connectivity is our priority and these include roads, railways, waterways and power grid interconnection," he said.

The conference was organised on the theme of “Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic”.

In view of the challenges posed by COVID-19, Paudyal said that a robust cooperation in vaccination would be a significant deliverable while proving the realization of a collective endeavour and sharing of technical knowhow and capacity enhancement in healthcare should be at the forefront of regional cooperation.

He also underlined the importance of taking on board the land-locked countries and mountainous ones in pursuing the goal for healthy oceans.

"There is an urgency to balance ecology to battle climate change and stated Nepal’s commitment to increase the share of clean energy and achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2045, contributing to the region’s overall ecology," he said.

According to him, Nepal attaches great importance to the Indian Ocean: its security, sustainability and economic potentials.

Paudyal also shared Nepal's commitment to increasing the share of clean energy and achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2045, contributing to the region’s ecology.

Nepal has vast potentials in generating hydroelectricity to drive economic growth not only in the country but also in South Asia, he said.

The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by Nepal's Ambassador to the UAE, Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Joint Secretary, South Asia Division of the MoFA, Tirtha Raj Wagle, and Section Officer of the Ministry, Maheshwar Mani Tripathi.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 6 December 2021.