Economy to grow by 6.8%, per capita income reaches $1,034

 Kathmandu, Apr. 26

The economy of the country is expected to grow at the rate of 6.81 per cent this fiscal year.

After the calculation of the economic activities of the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2018/19, it is estimated that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will go up by 6.81 per cent, said the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), a statistical agency under the National Planning Commission (NPC).

Nepal is embarking on high growth trajectory for the last three consecutive years with 6.3 per cent in the last fiscal 2017/18 and 7.74 in 2016/17.

According to the CBS, the size of national economy will reach Rs. 3.46 trillion by the end of this fiscal year from last year's Rs. 3.03 trillion.

In 2015/16, the devastating earthquake and months-long Indian blockade at the southern border caused the economy sunk as low as 0.1 per cent. It has rebounded since then.

Contribution of primary sector – including agriculture and forestry, fisheries, mines and excavation – to the GDP will be 27.59 per cent with 5.10 per cent value addition.

It contributed about 28.67 per cent to the economy in the last fiscal 2017/19.

"Favourable weather has resulted in significant improvement in agricultural yield and the reconstruction has mobilised more forest products. Similarly, the mines sector has witnessed increment in product," said the CBS.

Likewise, the secondary sector, which includes manufacturing and construction industries, electricity, gas and water, will contribute 14.60 per cent to the economy. This sector will witness about 8.10 per cent gross value addition against the last year's contribution.

The industry sector had about 14.31 per cent contribution to the economy last year.

Similarly, the tertiary or the service sector will have 57.81 per cent share in the economy this year. It will have 7.29 per cent value addition.

Last year, it had 57.01 per cent contribution to the economy.

The tertiary sector includes wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communications, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities, public administration and defense, education, health and social work.

Karnali lags behind

According to the provincial calculations, State 3 has the largest contribution to the national economy while Karnali has the least.

State 3 has 35.44 per cent share in the national GDP while Karnali has just 4 per cent contribution. 

Likewise, Province 1 has 16.11 per cent share to the country's economy, Province 5 has 14.26 per cent, Province 2 has 13.59 per cent, Gandaki 9.38 and Sudurpaschim 7.22 per cent.  

Provincial economic growth rate

Province	Growth Rate	Size of Economy (Rs. in billion)
Province 1	6.49	505.84
Province 2	6.53	444.49
Province 3	7.04	1432.75
Gandaki	7.06	288.20
Province 5	7.37	452.79
Karnali	5.68	119.25
Sudurpaschim	6.25	220.95

Source: CBS

Not only in its share to the national GDP, Karnali has the least growth rate with 5.68 per cent and smallest size of economy with Rs. 119.25 billion. Economy of Province 3 is about Rs. 1.43 trillion.

Per capita income up

The per capita income (PCI) has witnessed an increase of US $ 36 this year and reached $1034.

The figure is higher than the estimation of the NPC in its 14^th Periodic Plan where the planning body has set the PCI target at $ 1012. To graduate Nepal to the developing country from its current Least Developed Country (LDC) status, it needs $1500 PCI. The country aims to graduate by 2022.

According to the CBS, the gross domestic savings has been continuously increasing from 2015/16 when the country could save only 4.07 per cent of its GDP but it will reach 20.48 per cent in the current fiscal.

The domestic saving was about 17.81 per cent of the GDP last year.

Increased domestic saving will boost more investment and help in capital formation.

The export has slumped to just 9.05 per cent of the GDP while import reached about 51 per cent of the GDP. It was 40.75 per cent five years ago.

Similarly, the workers remittance has again reached 26.24  per cent equivalent to the GDP from last year's 24.91 per cent.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 April 2019. 

One BFI branch catering to 3,500 people

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: A branch of a Bank and Financial Institution (BFI) in the country is catering to about 3,560 people on an average.

The number of the branches of the BFIs has reached 8,205 by the end of the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2018/19 and about 25.7 million bank accounts have been maintained in them, said Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal.

He was speaking at the 64^th anniversary of the central bank at its premises in Baluwatar on Saturday. 

"We have given topmost priority to the expansion of banking services across the country as per the policy of the government to have at least a branch of the commercial bank in each local level," he said.

The number of branches of the class 'A' commercial banks has almost doubled in the last couple of years, and they have reached 724 local levels.

Governor Dr. Nepal said that by mid-March 2019, the BFIs have mobilised the deposits of Rs. 3,009 billion and loans equal to Rs. 2,749 billion. The size of deposits is equal to 87 per cent of the estimate Rs. 3,464 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country in 2018/19.

To increase the expansion of financial services and financial inclusion, the central bank has adopted the policy to promote branch opening in the remote districts, mobilise loans in the priority sectors such as agriculture and hydropower, refinancing and deprived sector lending.

At the same time, the central bank has changed its organisational structure and is establishing offices in all States. "We have started this new initiative from Karnali," said Dr. Nepal.

He also said that the high growth trajectory in the past three consecutive years had indicated the potential of high productivity in the country.

Former Governor of the NRB Satyendra Pyara Shrestha suggested the banking sector regulator to be vigilant about the depleting reserves of the foreign currency.

"The external sectors such as foreign trade and remittance seem less reliable and can create challenges in the future. Therefore, the NRB should be proactive in managing the balance of payment," he said.

The central bank has felicitated Shrestha.

President of the Nepal Bankers Association (NBA) Gyanendra Prasad Dhungana recommended the NRB to give priority to the resolution of the prolonged liquidity crisis since it was facing pressure on the interest rates.

President of Nepal National Employees Association--Nepal Rastra Bank, Resham Raj Regmi, said that the central bank needed to preserve its autonomy.

"Challenges will arise in the future if we fail to save the spirit of the central bank," he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 April 2019. 

Govt-community should work together to prevent economic loss

Lalitpur, Apr. 26

Japanese disaster experts on Friday said that the state and communities need to work together in reducing vulnerability in order to prevent huge economic loss.

"Disasters cause serious damage to economies. Haiti lost about 123 per cent of its total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 earthquake," Professor at the Disaster Mitigation Research Centre at the Nagoya University Satoru Nishikawa said at the fourth anniversary commemoration seminar of the devastating 2015 Gorkha Earthquake.

The US$ 6.48 billion economy of Haiti witnessed the loss of US $ 8 billion in the tremors and the entire economy had collapsed, Nishikawa said.

Similarly, Guyana experienced loss equivalent to about 59 per cent of its GDP in the 2005 floods, Tajikistan about 23 per cent of GDP in the 2008 extreme temperature and Thailand about 13 per cent of its GDP in the 2011 floods.

Nepal witnessed a loss of about US $ 9.3 billion in the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake which was about 35 per cent of its then economy.

Many businesses, specially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the mid-hills and mountains, were damaged while some of the infrastructure projects such as the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project experienced a serious geological damage.

Prof. Nishikawa further said that since the vulnerability scared away the foreign tourists and investors, the economy might get worse in the future.

"People at the lowest rung in the society are the most vulnerable and tend to suffer worse during the disasters. They are easily and repeatedly hit by the disasters, and chain of poverty can cause social unrest," he said.

He said that the loss of livelihood pushes more people into poverty.

Similarly, Shu Oyama, Deputy Mayor of Higashi-Matsushima City in Miyagi, Japan, said that building city was about building people, therefore, helping in the neighbourhood and revitalisation of the community should be given topmost priority in the post-disaster recovery efforts.

Senior Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Nepal Kozo Nagami recommended the government to enhance the capacity of the Department of Archaeology (DoA) to facilitate the early and resilient rebuilding of the damaged cultural heritages and historic monuments.

"We want to enhance the capacity of the DoA in order to facilitate the reconstruction of the crucial cultural and historical heritages damaged in the country. There is a small cooperation, one JICA expert is deployed at the DoA to implement the rebuilding plan of Shiva Temple and Degu Taleju Temple at the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square," he said.  

He pointed towards the need for creating strong connections and cooperation among the stakeholders to preserve and recreate the heritage.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyawali said that the proposed National Disaster Management Authority would work in disaster preparedness and risk mitigation in the future.

The seminar on 'Sharing of experiences and lessons learned on build back better recovery' was jointly organised by JICA and the NRA.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 27 April 2019. 

NGOs fail to spend reconstruction budget

Kathmandu, Apr. 25: The Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have spent less than 50 per cent budget in more than three years against their commitment made for the post-quake reconstruction.

About 202 NGOs and International NGOs have committed to mobilise Rs. 57.31 billion budget for the reconstruction of private houses, and education and health facilities but Rs. 27.28 billion is utilised so far.

According to the NGO Coordination Division at the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), tripartite agreement was signed with 202 NGOs for the reconstruction of 293 projects.

“The NGOs were taken the responsibility of  rebuilding 30 private housing projects, 183 educational institutions, 19 health facilities and 61 livelihood, training and water and sanitation projects,” said the division.

They have taken the responsibility of constructing about 22,000 private houses of which about 20,000 have received the first instalment of the housing grant and about 16,000 houses have been rebuilt.

However, only 13,000 households have received the third tranche of the grant which shows that the rest of the houses have been rebuilt but yet to receive the grant money.

Similarly, of the 829 schools and 87 health facilities being rebuilt by the NGOs, 442 schools and 55 health buildings are completed.

The NGOs involved in the post-quake reconstruction in the country have failed to fulfil their commitments to create human resources required for the ‘build back better’ campaign.

They have planned to provide on the job training (OJT) to about 36,780 people but only 13,366 have been trained on carpentry, masonry, plumbing and electrical.

Specially, lack of youth in the village has caused less participation in masonry. Of the targeted 35,167 masons, only 12,295 have received the OJT.

However, short training on those skills was more successful and more than 50,000 masons were created. Similarly, 1230 carpenters, 270 electricians and 83 plumbers were also created.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 April 2019. 

Job of nobody!

Kathmandu, Apr. 24:

The southern part of the Kathmandu Durbar Square has a tall, scary structure that menacingly stands among the locals and visitors.

That is the liaison office of the Nepal Sanskrit University (NSU), which boasts artistic Nepali windows and doors.

The four and a half-storey building has been there with multiple cracks, on the support of a dozen props, since the devastating Gorkha Earthquake.

"I have seen the building since I was a child," said Pushpalal Shrestha, 69, a local resident, who lives nearby.  “We are living in a constant fear that even a mild tremor can cause the building collapse which can be dangerous as there are many people hanging around the area."

Pushkar Karki, a curio trader at the Basantapur Dabali, also said that the cracks in the building are threatening. “But, there is nowhere we can go. We have to do our business in order to make our both ends meet,” he said.

While reconstruction of more than a dozen monuments within the Basantapur Durbar Square is going on in a full swing, the age-old building of NSU there remains as it is after the quake hit it on 25 April 2015.

It is due to the total negligence of the authorities and concerned stakeholders that the building facing the ‘Dabali’ or the space in the square got neither the attention nor the budget for its reconstruction.

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), Kathmandu Valley Development Trust, China, Japan International Cooperation Agency, United State of America, Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee and Museum Reconstruction Committee are active in the restoration of one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country but none has taken the responsibility of the architectural piece that once was a part of the Kumari Bahaal.

None of the concerned authorities including NRA, Department of Archaeology (DoA), Central Project Implementation Unit (CPIU) at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), University Grant Commission (UGC) and the NSU know about the rebuilding of the heritage.

The NRA said that the reconstruction of education building was the responsibility of the CIPU at the MoEST while its Chief Imanarayan Shrestha stated that the reconstruction of such structure would be managed by the UGC.

However, the UGC officials reiterated that it was the CPIU’s responsibility. An officer said that the UGC had recommended the MoEST for the reconstruction of the building.

“Some of the educational structures are neglected so far, therefore we are working to bring them under our supervision. These buildings are likely to be reconstructed with the money from the Indian support through the Exim Bank,” said Shrestha.

DoA’s Acting Director General Damodar Gautam said that his agency was responsible for the reconstruction of more than century old heritages so the building would be rebuilt by other concerned agencies.

NRA Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyawali also made similar comments while talking to the press on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, MSU, the main stakeholder, seems not caring the building of its liaison office at all.

A source at the University’s main office said that there was neither any discussion about the reconstruction of the building nor initiatives to manage funds for the same. 

The university has been padlocked by the students for the last six months and there were no activities from its authorities.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 April 2019. 

Oppo launches F11 Pro with 48 MP camera

Kathmandu, Apr. 24: Oppo has launched F11 Pro, its latest smartphone with 48 megapixel camera, in Nepal.

It said that the new phone that comes with innovative technology and stunning features has raised the bar in low light photography.

The company also launched F11 Pro Marvel's Avengers Limited Edition and F11 phones as well.

"The smartphones are equipped a new 48 MP ultra-clear camera system, a rising camera and a panoramic screen which provide customer with a unique user experience," said the company.

As the rear camera has been upgraded, F11 and F11 Pro feature an high standard 48MP+5MP dual camera system, F1.79 aperture, ball-bearing closed-loop VCM, 6P lens, and 1/2.25-inch image sensors to bring more light.

In day light environments, the devices can directly output 48MP ultra HD pictures. In low light, F11 series’ "Tetracell technology" analyses and combines the data acquired by four adjacent pixels to make it equivalent to a single pixel size of 1.6μm, doubling the size of the photosensitive pixel and shooting brighter and low-noise night portraits, said  Bobby Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Oppo Nepal.

The phone will be available in two colour variant: thunder black and aurora green.

The new Oppo phone has 6.5 inches panoramic screen with 90.9 per cent screen ratio, 6GB RAM and 128 GB ROM, Color OS 6. It is equipped with 4000mAh battery that last for about 15 hours in normal situation.

It has the facility of VOOC flash charge 3.0 which is used for fast charging of the device.

Oppo F11 Pro comes at the price of Rs. 47,900 and the limited edition will cost Rs. 49,900 while the F11 will cost Rs. 37,900.

The pre-order of these phones is open from 23 to 28 April and the devices will be available from 29 April.

Housing reconstruction witnesses 80 pc progress

Kathmandu, Apr. 23

 The post-quake housing reconstruction has witnessed about 80 per cent progress.

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) on Tuesday said that it had achieved 80 per cent progress by mid-April 2019 that coincided with the end of the Nepali year 2075.

April 25 marks the four-year of the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015 that killed about 9,000 people and damaged properties worth Rs. 938 billion in 32 districts across the country.

Of the 726,307 families that signed the grant agreement with the government, 612,935 have either completed the construction of their house or are in the position to complete it soon.

About 50 per cent of them have completed the reconstruction of their houses while 30 per cent are in the process of completing reconstruction.

"We have given topmost priority to the private house reconstruction although rebuilding activities expanded to educational institutions, health facilities, archaeological heritage, building of security agencies and government building, and infrastructure like roads and drinking water," said Chief Executive Officer of the reconstruction body Sushil Gyawali.

He said that the NRA had also given equal importance to the house-building for the vulnerable people like senior citizens, disabled and orphans. The government will build house for them.

At the same time, the reconstruction body is also conducting yet another survey to address the grievances of the quake-victim families who said that they should also get the housing or retrofitting grant.

The houses that were completely damaged are eligible for Rs. 300,000 grant and partially damaged houses that can be retrofitted get Rs. 100,000 while families that are in the vulnerable areas and in the need of relocation will get additional Rs. 200,000 to buy a piece of land to build a house.

Similarly, 85 per cent progress has been made in the reconstruction of school buildings, including both completed and under-construction. Health sector reconstruction has achieved 66 per cent progress, archaeological heritage 59 per cent, security sector building 56 per cent and government building 98 per cent.

Gyawali said that the reconstruction of archeological heritage sites was the most complex and time consuming as issues like architecture, use of traditional construction material, their sentimental attachment with the daily lives of the local communities and ensuring their ownership needed to be considered.

Short-fall of Rs. 429 bn

Meanwhile, the NRA has estimated that there will be the short fall of about Rs. 429 billion for the reconstruction campaign. It has termed the financial management as the biggest challenge.

"The biggest challenge in reconstruction and rehabilitation is the financial management. A total of Rs. 938 billion was estimated for the five-year reconstruction and rehabilitation plan. Of which, Rs. 186 billion has been spent by FY 2017/18, and the revised projected expenditure for this fiscal year is Rs. 123 billion," said Gyawali.

He said that the reconstruction body had expected that about Rs. 200 billion would be mobilized through the government's regular budget program, private and NGO sector.

"This shows that we will need an additional Rs. 429 billion to complete the overall reconstruction works. So, the status of reconstruction will depend on our proper financial management," he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 April 2019. 

Govt facing resource management challenge

Pre-Budget Discussion

Kathmandu, Apr. 23: Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Tuesday said that the government was facing a severe resource management challenge for socio-economic development.

"The laws that we created have added pressure on us. It is a great challenge to manage resources to address the demands of fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution," Dr. Khatiwada said, while speaking at a Pre-Budget Discussion organised by Management Association of Nepal (MAN) in the Capital.

He stuck to his earlier stand to control import, and indicated that the government would announce some measures for the same in the budget of the next fiscal year, 2019/20.

The finance minister will present the budget of the next fiscal at the Parliament on May 29.

"The government will not allow indiscriminate import of luxury goods even though it will support achieving the revenue-target. I will not let this happen," he said.

He said that the capital expenditure remained low not because of the poor performance of the development projects but due to the delay in making the payments.

Dr. Khatiwada, a couple of days ago, had directed the secretaries of the ministries that mobilise a large part of the development budget to expedite the work and make timely payments.

He said that the figures of capital expenditure would register impressive growth by the end of the current FY.

Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri said that the political philosophy of the ruling party should be reflected in the budget.

He criticised the government for the low capital expenditure and suggested finding measures for effective budget mobilisation.

President of the NADA Automobile Association Shambhu Prasad Dahal suggested the government should increase the tax on the Indian vehicles entering the country.

"The private Indian vehicles have affected our business here in Nepal therefore the government must double the charges they currently pay," he said.

He also recommended not allowing Indian vehicles for more than a month in Nepal.

Consumer rights activist Jyoti Baniya recommended slashing service charged in the restaurant.

President of the Federation of Nepalese Cottage and Small Industry (FNCSI) Shyam Prasad Giri recommended establishing industrial village for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

"It is a project that local units can implement. The federal government should facilitate some selected local governments in establishing industrial village for SMEs," he said.

He also suggested creating linkages between university and industry to address the human resource shortage.

President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries Satish Kumar More suggested facilitating assembling industries in Nepal.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 April 2019. 

Govt and World bank launch mini-grid project

Kathmandu, Apr. 22

 The government and the World Bank (WB) on Monday signed an agreement to scale up renewable energy development in Nepal.

The four-year US$ 17.21 million project will work with the private sector in the selected regions in the country to increase renewable energy in the Private Sector-led Mini-Grid Energy Access Project.

The WB will finance US$ 7.61 million through its Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) and the government will contribute subsidy of US$ 6 million while remaining US$ 3.60 million will be contributed by the private sector.

The agreement was signed by Shreekrishna Nepal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Bigyan Pradhan, Acting Country Manager of the WB.

The project will provide renewable energy to 126,000 rural people and support more than 80 businesses through micro/mini-hydro and solar subprojects in the rural areas. The project will be implemented by the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), the government's nodal agency for renewable energy promotion in Nepal.

This project aims to support more than 25 mini-grid subprojects and add new generation capacity of 3.8 MW, while rehabilitating and restoring the capacity of existing mini-grids.

“We are thankful to the World Bank for the support in launching this milestone project to encourage commercial financing of renewable and off-grid energy systems in Nepal. This project will demonstrate that the private sector led model is feasible in mini-grid development and GoN is committed to engage private sector in development," said Nepal.

Under the Project, private entities and cooperatives will be mobilised to provide electricity services to the rural areas as “energy service companies” (ESCOs). These specialised ESCOs will crowd-in financing capacity to develop, build, own and operate renewable mini-grid projects, said the WB.

Commercial banks are a key partner who will assume credit risk of the subproject loans to ESCOs once they are eligible and selected to participate in the Project by AEPC. The credit facility component of the project is in turn supported by a technical assistance component for stronger project development support to the mini-grid sector, ESCOs and partner banks to ensure sustainable implementation beyond the life of the project. 

 “Maximising finance for development is an important element in Nepal’s growth trajectory. By encouraging the participation of the private sector, this Project motivates a business approach to improve energy access while supporting the government’s efforts to provide clean and efficient energy options to rural communities” said Pradhan.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 April 2019. 

Increase capital expenditure, FM Khatiwada directs

Kathmandu, Apr. 21:

Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Sunday directed the secretaries of the development ministries to mobilise at least two-thirds capital expenditure before mid-May.

He directed them to put additional efforts to achieve the desired results in budget expenditure and achieve the development targets.

"Do not show any excuse. Much work can be done in a month," he said while speaking at the Budget Review Meeting at the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

According to him, the foundation of the budget for the coming fiscal year 2019/20 will be determined on the basis of the capital expenditure of the ministries by mid-May, and budget will be allocated to them as per their work performance.

The government has spent only 35.62 per cent capital budget and achieved 55.95 per cent recurrent expenditure and 29.82 per cent financing.

The MoF has been saying that the capital expenditure is higher than the figures as significant amount of infrastructure projects is yet to be paid although the work has been completed.

Stating that there was a trend to make payment by the end of the fiscal year just to earn a bad name for the government, Finance Minister Dr. Khatiwada directed the secretaries to immediately make the payment to the projects which were completed.

"The Finance Ministry is ready to extend its cooperation and facilitate when required in this regard. Respective agencies will be accountable if the payment of the bills submitted is not made in time," he said.

He assured the ministries that the MoF would provide additional budget if required.

The Finance Minister pointed towards the need to classify the projects as per the changed political structure and urged the officials not to include the projects without Detailed Project Report (DPR).

He also directed the secretaries to propose budget for the multiyear projects only after getting approval from the National Planning Commission (NPC).

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 April 2019. 

Prime Life to insure PLHIV

Kathmandu, Apr. 21: National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nepal (NAP+N) has signed a contract to start the Life Insurance of People living with HIV (PLHIV) with Prime Life Insurance Limited.

PLHIVs were not able to get Life insurance till now due to myths and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.

PLHIV have long been complaining that they were discriminated in life insurance scheme.

"It is the result of the efforts of Country Program Manager of AHF Nepal Deepak Dhungel and Nepal Government, RUNVAN and other stakeholders of HIV sector, said the association.

After the agreement with NAP+N, Prime Life Insurance Company has provided equal opportunity for life insurance to all PLHIVs as their interest amount.

The agreement has been signed by President of NAP+N Rajesh Didiya and CEO of Prime Life Manoj Kumar Bhattarai.

Didiya said that such agreement was the most precious achievement in the history Nepal's HIV/AIDS sector.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 April 2019. 

Bangdung principles still relevant: Gyawali

Kathmandu, Apr. 21:

Former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal on Sunday said that the principles of Bandung Conference were still relevant.

"Principles of Bandung Conference were the foundation of new international relations and world order then and still have the power to create another change," he said while speaking at the 64^th Anniversary of Bandung Conference organised by the Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation of Nepal.

He said that the importance of the principles of Bandung was also considered by the United Nations as well.

He said that Asia will rise in the immediate future and its growth will change the 5,000 years old world order.

According to him, the rise of China and India will define new relations in Asia so Nepal should be prepared to get benefits in such situation.

A conference of Asian political parties is being organised to discuss issues like Asian Union, Common currency and development models.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 April 2019.