Finance Minister pledges for development of Nijgadh airport

 Kathmandu, June 4

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma Prabhakar has expressed his commitment to build an international airport at Nijgadh of Bara district.

Addressing the 46th general assembly of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BICCI) on Saturday afternoon, he expressed his commitment. "Nijgadh airport should be built, and it shall be built. This is my commitment," he said, according to his secretariat.

He further maintained that this government has given high priority to Nijgadh Airport.

Minister Sharma said that Nijgadh Airport was necessary not only as an alternative to Tribhuvan International Airport but also for the overall economic development of Madhes Province, and the country.

He said that it was necessary to connect Nijgadh Airport and Kathmandu-Terai Expressway together. "An expressway is being built to connect Madhes with Kathmandu by the shortest link. Not only vehicles will run on it, but also national and international passengers will be able to travel on the expressway," said FM Sharma.

Meanwhile, he informed that necessary process would be taken forward for the operation of Birgunj Sugar Factory. Before arriving at the BICCI, a team comprising Finance Minister Sharma, Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, Chief of Revenue Management Division and Joint Secretary Bhupal Baral inspected the factory on Saturday morning.

On the occasion, the employees informed that the sugar mill was operational.

"The budget for running the Birgunj Sugar Mill has been included in the budget. It is not a joke. The government has included this programme in the budget following a thorough study on its potential," he said. FM Sharma also sought the cooperation from the industrialists of Birgunj area for the same.

He assured that the demands of industrialists and businessmen of Birgunj have been addressed a lot through the budget and government policies and programmes.

 During the programme, businessmen and people's representatives of the area complained that Birgunj was neglected by the central government. Minister Sharma said that the projects like Pathlaiya-Birgunj corridor, Nijgadh airport and expressway, reopening of sugar factory, dry port and construction of integrated check post would speed up the development of the area.

Meanwhile, our correspondent in Birgunj reported that FM Sharma maintained that he had tried to build a sustainable economy by increasing domestic production, protecting indigenous industries by giving discounts on electricity, and providing 8 per cent incentive on exports, as well as creating one level difference in tariffs on finished goods and raw materials.

Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Marasini said that Birgunj has become a lifeline for industry and trade. Stating that the budget has come in a difficult economic situation, he said that efforts have been made to change the destiny of Nepal and Nepalis by leading the economy in the right direction.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 June 2022. 

Labour minister directs counselors, attaches to address workers' issues

Kathmandu, Jun 4

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha has directed the labour attaches and counselors to address the grievances of the workers in the destination countries. Concluding an orientation programme for counselors (labour) and labour attaches appointed for Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Qatar, he said that even when workers come to the embassy, ​​their grievances are not heard.

Minister Shrestha said that counselors and attaches should play a role in protecting the rights of migrant workers, rescue in case of problems and resolve disputes between employers and workers.

Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Employment and Social Security, Ek Narayan Aryal, said that the counselors and attaches should be aware of foreign laws as well as the issues of migrant workers.

During the orientation, experts had provided training on foreign employment management system, labour immigration, bilateral labour agreement, labour diplomacy, law on foreign employment and others.

There is a legal provision to have a labour officer at the Nepali missions abroad to assist the migrant workers.

The ministry has appointed Devendra Karki as counselor for Saudi Arabia, Deenbandhu Subedi for the United Arab Emirates and Jamuna Kafle as labour attache for Bahrain and Krishna Poudel for Qatar.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 June 2022. 

Surviving Complex Geoeconomics

 A small state has many problems. Any Least Developed Country (LDC) has additional challenges. And, a landlocked country has further domestic and international issues like high production and transit costs. Unfortunately, Nepal is all of them. On top of that, it has two large neighbours that are also among the largest global economies with a combined 2.8 billion population, about 36 per cent of the world. This small Himalayan nation fits the adage coined by the late king Prithvi Narayan Shah – a yam between two boulders, which indicates its delicate nature since the growth of the yam is restricted by the boulders.

But it's time for Nepal and its giant neighbours to change the way of thinking and redefine the country's identity along with the changing the world and regional geopolitics. Touted as the Asian century, when China and India's rise in global economy and politics is rather rapid and contestations between the United States of America and China, as well as China and India, are on the rise, Nepal is under pressure to join either force against its long celebrated non-aligned policy or 'balanced neighbourhood' policy. 

Meanwhile, it is trying to shed off its image of a 'yam' and adopt a polity of a 'bridge' that would facilitate increased connections and exchanges between India and China through Nepal transit. At the time, it had also tried to use China as a counterweight against India or vice versa. 

The country's foreign policy and strategy are not coherent and it gets twisted according to preference and at the whim of the party in power, with the communist parties exerting affection to the northern and Nepali Congress to the southern neighbour. This is explicitly exhibited at the project execution level, for example, the Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectricity Project has been ping-ponged between the two countries. However, Nepal has long failed to tap the development potential and strike a deal that would benefit the country while people feel that India has deceived Nepal in bilateral project development in Koshi, Gandaki and Mahakali rivers. 

'Gaida's dance with tiger and dragon', a book published by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and edited by Chandra D. Bhatta and Jonathan Menge, is the latest treatise that discusses the redefined relations of Nepal with its immediate neighbours. 

As the editors have summarised the write-ups included in the book, relations have new fields of contestation propelled by the trade war between China and the USA, border confrontations between India and China, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)'s a grant to Nepal and the Indo-Pacific Policy (IPS) of the US, and complexities and conspiracy theories funnelled up during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Being a Least Developed Country, Nepal needs foreign support for development financing as well as management of crises like the earthquake and pandemic. 

However, the US grant for infrastructure development was pushed into controversy as the interest groups try to define it in the light of IPS against the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a concept of Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The book aptly warns that while the rise of China has forced the US to intensify its manoeuvres around South Asia and South-East Asia, Nepal must try to cater to its national and development interests without falling into the ambit of either force. According to the book, while Nepal cannot ignore its neighbours, ignoring the West would dampen its developmental activities. 

Therefore, it will be important to align the country's foreign policy with national interest and find ways to tame foreign interests in a way that supports the country's developmental ambitions. 

Given the newly sprouted challenges of the new geopolitics and economic dependence, Nepal should revisit its foreign policy. The book also suggests a balance between the two neighbours while redefining its relations with the West – as a development partner. 

The book has four sections where 11 experts have analysed the country's situation and prospects in historical, economic, developmental and diplomatic dynamics as well as the situation of central Asia's landlocked nations. Achyut Wagle, Madhu Raman Acharya and Jagadish C. Pokharel have analysed Nepal's relations with their immediate neighbours and other development partners where they have suggested various tools and policies that serve the national interest. 

Wagle's article helps to understand the political economy and intentions behind the aid, trade, transit, water cooperation, foreign direct investment and humanitarian support by China and India to Nepal. Likewise, the late Dhruba Kumar and Geja Sharma Wagle have contributed to the theme of national security. Dhruba Kumar's insights will surely amaze readers when he says: 'Incisive and timely moves in dealing with challenges are the prerequisites of hardheaded strategic diplomacy. Nonalignment as a holy grail of foreign policy will not be enough to secure Nepal's place in the new strategic calculus.' 

Nihar R. Nayak, Lila Nyaichyai and Indra Adhikari have analysed the complexity of Nepal's relations with India and China. Similarly, other must-reads are 'How small is a small state?' by Ananda Aditya and 'Navigating renewed geopolitical rivalries' by Mendee Jargalsaikhan. 

Stating that Nepal is one of the least conflict-prone states in one of the most violence-prone regions in the world, even if a substantial part of the country's population remains militarised, Aditya puts great efforts to convince the readers that Nepal is not a small country, and offers pragmatic solutions to fuel hopes for development and prosperity. Likewise, Jargalsaikhan's article can offer to learn about Nepal from the experiences of Mongolia, a landlocked country in Central Asia with a similar geopolitical situation with two large neighbours – Russia in the north and China in the south – and the US interests in it. Nepal can learn a lot from Mongolia's 'Third Neighbourhood Policy' framework. Nargiza Muratalieva tells the tale of a crumbling hegemonic order in central Asia.

The book is worth reading. It will certainly guide policymakers, diplomats and those who have interests in diplomacy, international aid, political economy, security and development.  

Published in The Rising Nepal daily, Friday Supplement, on 3 June 2022. 

Garment entrepreneurs seek export promotion facility

Kathmandu, Jun 3

Garment Association of Nepal (GAN) has demanded inclusion of garment industry in the list to get the facility of export promotion and up to 8 per cent cash incentives on export.

At a press meet on Friday, GAN expressed concerns over the exclusion of the sector from the group getting the facility, despite its potential to change the scenario of Nepal's export trade in a couple of years.

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has announced to support the goods with export potential such as clinker, cement, steel, footwear, processed water and services based on IT and business process outsourcing with export promotion and 8 per cent cash incentive but the entrepreneurs said that garment is missing from the budget.

"This sector has export potential of US$1.20 billion dollars per annum. The World Bank has pointed to this potential in its report in 2021, but the government has not included it in the group of products getting the incentives," said General Secretary of GAN, Ashok Agrawal.

He said that the government has not called a meeting with them to find ways for business growth and development.

Export industry should be treated differently than the domestic industries so the government should have a separate desk or agency to listen to our demands and address the constraints, he suggested.

According to Agrawal, GAN has been demanding10 per cent subsidy on exports of garments.  

The government is drafting a new procedure to provide cash subsidy on the exports of goods like garment, handicraft, carpet and pashmina, so we want our sector to be included in the document, he said.

"The budget announced some long-term measures, it is a welcome step, but in the short-run we need some relief. Our demand is just as NRB has termed it as one of the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

President of GAN, Chandi Prasad Aryal, said that Nepal is about 26 per cent expensive compared to the neighbouring countries and other developing countries so they want government to come in to finance the gap through discounts and cash incentives. "There is a need to create environment to sell our products. For it, we need to be competitive in terms of price and quality," he said.

GAN had made multiple requests to the prime ministers, and ministers of finance and industry to address their grievances but their demands have been largely ignored. Governments in the past also did not take any proactive steps to promote Nepali goods and products in the domestic and international markets.

"We are exporting for the last four decades. At a time, Nepal exported garments worth US$ 400 which has now come down to just $50 million. It has severe repercussion on the employment as well," said Aryal.

GAN has demanded the government to provide land at free of cost to the entrepreneurs. They decided to charge Rs. 20 per square foot at the garment processing zone in Simara which later converted to Special Economic Zone.

Aryal also said that getting back the government announced cash subsidies is a hard nut to crack, it takes quite a time, processing and efforts.

The garment industry had Rs. 12 billion investment in 1200 industries about two decades ago, they had employed about a million people but recent data is not available. Growth of garment and other sectors enhances business for air cargo and other backward businesses as well.

In Bangladesh, the share of garment in total export is above 80 per cent. Nepal couldn't maintain its quality and competitiveness after the implement of multi-fibre agreement in 2005.

There are some goods in the list of duty free of the United States of America for the period of 2015-2025 which have the margin of about 25 per cent,  Nepal can be competitive in these products so government should help us in developing them. The garment entrepreneurs also suggested that Prime Sher Bahadur Deuba during his anticipated visit to the USA should request the latter to provide duty free entry to 12 products of garment category from Nepal.

Executive Member of GAN, Rahul Shakya, said that they haven't received more than 3 per cent cash incentives while Bangladesh and China offer 14 per cent and India 8 per cent cash incentives.

"How can Nepali products compete with the product of those countries with 15-25 per cent additional costs due to our landlocked status? Meanwhile, the price of cotton has gone up by 50 per cent, and the price of yarn and transportation has also gone up significantly," he said.  

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 June 2022.  

Stakeholders ready for Malaysia bound workers' health check up to be conducted only after labour permit

 Kathmandu, Jun 3

Stakeholders have agreed to solve the problems relating to biometric health examination of migrant workers flying to Malaysia.

During a discussion held among the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, health entrepreneurs and foreign employment agencies on Friday, they expressed their commitment to addressing the issue at the earliest.

For that, biometric health examination of the workers will be done only after completing all the procedures of pre-employment approval from now on.

Thousands of workers go for biometric health check-ups daily before the labour approval process begins. Biometric health check-ups will be conducted by the listed health institutions only after completing all the pre-labour approval procedures and getting the LT number.

Health professionals said that the pressure for health check-ups has increased as Malaysia, which has been a major destination country for Nepali workers, has been open for employment for a long time.

During the discussion, it was decided that health practitioners and foreign employment agencies would issue a joint statement to resolve the problems seen in the health check-up, not to conduct health check-up without completing all the pre-labour approval procedures, and bring the non-compliant organisations under the ambit of action.

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha said that the services provided by the ministry have been expedited via online services, adding that other concerned organisations should also not cause any harassment to the workers.

Secretary of the Ministry Ek Narayan Aryal said that the mission of the ministry would not be completed if the organisations providing services related to foreign employment did not provide effective services in time.

Meanwhile, Minister Shrestha said that the Social Security Fund needs to be restructured to increase the attraction of employers and contributors.

Speaking at a discussion programme at the MoLESS on the effective operation and management of the SSF, he said that the attraction of employer companies and workers towards the fund should be increased.

According to him, the plan of the fund should be reviewed to increase the attraction of employers and contributors.

Social security expert Krishna Acharya said that the social security fund should bring attractive facilities and schemes to the employers and workers of small and medium enterprises. Stakeholders say that the contribution-based social security programme should be promoted in a way that benefits both the workers and the employers.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 June 2022.  

Gulmi Hospital upgrades Health Information System

Kathmandu, May 3

District Hospital Gulmi in Lumbini Province has upgraded its health information system with the implementation of web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system.

This will enable the hospital to keep digital record of the patients’ medical reports and also help improve diagnosis as well as overall healthcare quality through readily available patient-medical information.

The up-gradation also includes the implementation of two important features health insurance and District Health Information System (DHIS)2 interoperability, said Cogent Health Pvt. Ltd, a company that upgraded the system, in a press statement on Thursday.

As regards to health insurance feature, the hospital’s EMR system is now integrated with openIMIS, health insurance management platform of the government’s Health Insurance Board.

 This helps the hospital check insurance eligibility of patients and make insurance claims digitally through the EMR system directly enabling the hospital to provide more prompt service to the patients as well as ensure quicker claim settlement.

Similarly, the DHIS2 integration now links the hospital information system with the government’s (Health Management Information System) reporting platform enabling the hospital medical recorder to send monthly HMIS reports directly through the hospital EMR system.

Additionally, the hospital is also gearing to implement online appointment and patient portal service enabling their patients to book and pay for doctor appointments through mobile wallets and access test reports online.

The system upgradation has been supported by Nick Simons Institute and implemented by Cogent Health Pvt. Ltd. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 June 2022.  

Nepal Finland hold bilateral consultations

 Kathmandu, June 2

The Foreign Ministries of Nepal and Finland held the second edition of the Bilateral Consultations in Helsinki on Thursday.

Foreign Secretary, Bharat Raj Paudyal, and Permanent State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Jukka Salovaara, led their respective delegations to the consultations.

According to the Embassy of Nepal in Copenhagen of Denmark, delegations exchanged views on further strengthening the Nepal-Finland friendly relations and promoting the scope of cooperation.

They underscored the importance of high-level visits and interactions at all levels, while highlighting the need of enhancing economic engagements in the days ahead, the embassy said in a statement.

The two sides agreed to give new momentum to trade, investment tourism and other productive sectors, bilaterally as well as through the EU mechanisms.

Nepal thanked Finland for its support and solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nepal also appreciated the Finnish cooperation in various sectors, which has contributed to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finland assured Nepal of its continued cooperation to Nepal’s socioeconomic development, as the country prepares for post-COVID economic recovery.

"The two sides also discussed matters of regional and global importance, including climate change, connectivity and multilateralism," said the embassy.

The Finnish delegation comprised Ambassador of Finland to Nepal, Pertti Anttinen, and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Nepali delegation included Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nirmal Raj Kafle, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chakra Bahadur Budha and Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Nepal in Denmark Tirtha Raj Aryal.

Prior to the Bilateral Consultations, the Foreign Secretary called on Ville Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland.

He also met with Political State Secretary of Finland, Johanna Sumuvuori.

According to the embassy, on both the occasions, the two sides exchanged views on matters of mutual interests, including cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels and people-to-people contacts.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 3 June 2022.