सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Chandra Ghimire is a former skilled administrator of the Nepal government. The government has given Ghimire, who is also a former secretary, the important responsibility of the British ambassador. The same ambassador Ghimire was asked by Narayan Prasad Poudel, editor-in-chief of SinghaDurbar.com, in the ‘Bank and Enterprise’ television program: You are representing the Nepali citizens of the Government of Nepal in the UK. In a diplomatic mission. Meanwhile, we are waiting for the ambassador who sent economic diplomacy there to do something for Nepal’s prosperity, investment, growth, what will he do? What–##What plan have you made ?
I have made a very long plan, as a summary of which I have also submitted a report of about 18, 19 pages. Which report I have submitted to our esteemed Parliament. Because we had to complete the constitution as a process. That was also part of the hearing process of the Parliament.
Along with that, I had to design my own mission, gold or the actions required for that. Along with that, I had to present my own ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to them as my roadmap. The report that has been prepared for that. That is what I have said here, that is my current roadmap.
How do those who represent Nepal abroad introduce Nepal to Nepal there ? How do they meet with entrepreneurs and businessmen there ? How do they send investment here ? ##How do they increase tourism ##? ##There is a part of you that is being called Georgement. Britain is a country##, ## with which Nepal first extended formal diplomatic relations. The missions were also established in the same way and it was Britain that first announced the recognition of Nepal as an independent state. Putting these issues together, how is Nepal represented there? And what is the benefit transfer in Nepal? This is my own analysis, it is a bit confusing. Let’s start with that. The relationship we have with Britain or the UK is a historical relationship. We have already given a few examples here. Britain is the first country with which we established diplomatic relations and we have been in relations since 1816. We entered into formal relations since around 1923. As the very first embassy, we had our Royal Embassy or the diplomatic mission before that of some firm.
We presented that to them and this was one aspect of the relationship. Another thing is that the British society itself is a society with the greatest goodwill towards Nepal and the Nepalese. Despite that goodwill and such a historical relationship, if we look at our economic front, the economic diplomacy that we have to deal with, the question here is intertwined with the benefits that we have.
If we look at that benefit statistically, some of its dimensions have at least 5/7 dimensions of economic diplomacy. When we look at the indicators within those dimensions, we can see that given level of relationship, historical relationship number 1. Number 2, amount of size of the high goodwill. What we have available in that particular country. Or in that particular society. Compared to that, we still have a good journey to harden.
You have a great responsibility. You have been the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and have been looking at Nepal’s trade for a long time. You have also looked at the industry. Now how much investment has come in from the UK? ? ##Investments here##, ##The investors who are here. The biggest investment that has come to Nepal from the UK##, ##The investment seen here is also the investment of the Standard Chartered Bank. It is here in the form of a branch. But we take it in the form of a bank. They also increased their capital once in the past. When it increased from 2 billion to 8 billion, the British team of SCB did not do it this way anymore. We are going back. They were saying it. In the meantime, a tax issue came up. Banks were taxed on the gains received from FPO and merger. Even then, they are said to be a little angry. Those who are here, they are also sitting with their noses turned up. Now how much do you send? ##There is a question.
There are two parts to this. One is to do it within our home. That is, that is our home. What does that mean? In our policies, in our relations with the UK, there are some things that need to be done within the home. There are some things. There is something to be done there. That is the host country. That is, in the UK. There are things to be done there. Where Nepal is promoted as an investment destination country, there are prospective investors.
Identifying them and creating facilities for them to come to Nepal. That is, working on the facilitation part. And with some of their Nepalese authorities or stakeholders when they come to FDI. Because FDI does not come in a vacuum. There is a leakage of it. There is a chain. It comes from the chain. When it comes to the chain, many stakeholders have to work. It may be government. It may be non-government.
There are also facilitation tasks to be done to build linkages with them. Having said that, I have kept in mind the issue of working on both types of parts. I have put it in my plan. If I have to talk about it with an example, let’s talk about the yacht home first in Nepal. Britain always brings investors to Nepal, any investor, not just from Britain. Before bringing investment, it examines its cost of investment. Nepal is a good country.
It is a Himalayan country. Or it has a historical relationship with Nepal. It does not come just because. What does it ultimately look at? What is the size of that profitability? It will look at that. For that, it examines its cost of investment. We have to do something to reduce it. We have to work to reduce it. If we have to talk about it by name, we call it DTAA.
That is, in matters like double tax, avoidance agreement (double taxation agreement), what is happening is that now he has to pay tax in Nepal as well as in the UK. When he has to pay it in both directions, the cost of investment has increased. That is also why it is difficult for us to bring investors to LDC countries. Because their cost of production is high. The cost of transportation is high.
The cost of transit is high. In all these given constants, if we make their cost of investment expensive, then they have to work immediately to bring them in. We have to work on such parts number one. Similarly, the second thing is our investment region, which we have set, which includes some legal instruments.
There are some institutional parts. There are some procedural parts. How do we reform it? So that investors. That is not just British investors. It facilitates all investors. And as I have been saying in the past, when I was in the government, I was in the government until January 2021. After that, I worked as a policy researcher for about 3 and a half years or 4 years.
What I am saying and writing during this time is that the investment region of Nepal has not been reformed. It needs to be reformed. That is why the cost of investment for investors coming to us is getting high. Then they come to India. Or Bangladesh. Or other neighboring countries. But they are facing many obstacles to come to Nepal.
In such a part, we have to work in-house. And as for the other part, as I said before, where I have to work actively. Now I want to conclude this. What will I do when I work in both those funds? Then according to my plan. I will work there on the lines I said before. In the part of the agreement to be made in the part of the reform here, I will give feedback to my government on that part, which I told my capital.
Where can Nepal get more benefits if we tighten it? I will give feedback so that we can reform or conclude a treaty so that Nepal gets benefits. So that Nepal can get more benefits without losing any cost or incurring any cost.
Like the quota-free export facility in America. Now you can look for it in Britain. Britain is again Central of Europe. You should also look at other countries where we do not have missions, including Britain. You mean you are representing Nepal in the whole of Europe ?
Now Europe is a bit different. It is within the UK. But one thing is that the status of the UK is a bit different. For example, if we look at the Global Power Index, the UK is in the top 4, 5. In some, it comes in 3, 4. In some, it comes in 4. Similarly, if we look at the Global Soft Power Index, it comes in 2. It comes behind the USA. Similarly, if we look at the Hard Power Index, the UK is in the top 4, 5. So these global indices have shown its status.
And what is the next thing? On the EU side, even if it exits the EU or does so, the UK’s policies are similar to those of the EU in many cases, or they are working to realign or align with the UK’s policies. Therefore, the policy adopted by the UK directly affects the policy adopted by the EU.
You can see whether there are other joining countries other than the UK. Just like when we go to India, we say we should look even to Afghanistan. Where do you have such an additional responsibility?
Yes. Ireland. Ireland is a separate country. One good thing is that the number of Nepalis in Ireland has been increasing in recent times. Another is that Ireland’s economy is doing very well. Due to that, Ireland’s interest in Nepal is growing a lot. Whether it is in the part of investment or in the part of tourism, they are increasing those opportunities more and more.
In that part, I have to work in Ireland. I came close to your previous question. I would like to address that too. What you are saying here is that there may be some kind of treaty agreement regarding sending Nepal’s exports to the UK. You were saying. Now there is a scheme called Decitium. The British government recently introduced a scheme called GSP. That is, it is a scheme that allows less developed countries like Nepal to easily access their markets. That is, it is a customs facility.
What it has done now is that it has come to the country behind the exit and brought a scheme called DCTS. Which has brought a facility to provide duty-free facilities to 99.8 percent of Nepalese products, that is, out of a total product, 99.8 percent. But where is the relevant issue here? If Nepal graduates from the LDC, it will be effective for only 3 years.
Having said that, Nepal will graduate by 2026. That will come later. Having said that, Nepal is likely to be a beneficiary of the DCTS scheme until 2029.
##What should I do till 2026##–##What preparations should I make to benefit from those 3 years? ##?
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## Now there is a challenge to take the benefit within 2026. The other is what to do after 2029? The biggest question is that I have seen more. Because we have been exporting conventionally. At present, that is not enough. The data itself tells us. What do our data show? We have exported only about 3 percent of our total exports to the UK, which is only 3 percent of our total exports to the world.
While we should have been able to do more. Now what remains here is that we will also work conventionally until 2026. We will enjoy the benefits of that concession until 2029. But what to do after 2029? What to eliminate? It cannot be eliminated. We have industries. We have SMEs. We have exporters. We have traders. And in some cases, there are farmers too. So, we have to find some way for their welfare.
As the investment areas declared by the Government of Nepal, ##Whether it is for internal consumption or for exports. It could be tourism. It could be agriculture. Or it could be hydropower. Now it is IT. These areas are on the top priority of the government or they are saying, “Come, invest money, invest it.” But when we send it there, many of these things do not go there. Where to use that Virgin Market in the UK to use that 3-year facility that it gave, where here–##Where what–##Do you have to prepare in advance by keeping things in the central ##? ##What–##What should we look at ?
## In this, we would like to add another one. That is the energy sector. The 4 or 5 areas that I mentioned earlier are there. In that sector, recently, in South Asia, especially in India and Bangladesh, Nepal has been opening up this cross-border, energy, trading market. British investors are also looking at that possibility with interest.
And they are looking for opportunities to join their investment in that. So, we can bring their investment in such a thing, number one. Another thing is that we have the current mode of production. Or export, we need to modernize it further. Or we need to do things competitively. What is the only way to make that possible? Then when a good size of investment can be brought here.
And technology can be transferred. And after that technology is transferred, our competitiveness will also increase. And we will be able to increase the size of value addition in our productions. For that, we have to increase investment in the areas you mentioned earlier. So that we can increase the size of exports to neighboring countries and other countries including the UK.
So these are the areas, but what is left is that I have taken it as the biggest challenge to bring more and more investment in them.
This is what has happened so far, and investors have been sitting with their noses in the air. Now how can they be further convinced ? Where is that responsibility again?
Very good question. Right now our economy is a bit in trouble. We have to accept that fact. For some time, our external side of the economy was weak. That side has improved due to some factors. Currently, there is a part of the foreign currency reserve. The part of the foreign currency reserve has improved a lot now. To the extent of covering 13, 14 months of imports.
But the thing is that in our domestic part of the economy, we have to work on some parts and we have to raise market confidence. The efforts that the government is making to raise that confidence. We still have to speed up a little in that effort. There is a part that we have to continue working with. Doing that will certainly ease the economy, but now that it is said, external factors are also involved.
International is involved because 20, 23 were taken as a global recession, worldwide. And even in 24, we have been experiencing its effects even before we reached India. That means it took a little time. We must accept that. However, the efforts that the government is making.
We must also understand that. As soon as the market gains confidence a little, the infrastructure to move forward with great speed again is ready at the ground level.
A market like this is an important aspect. Nepal itself is not a big market. But it can be a positive ground to grab the opportunities of nearby markets. South Asia is now a big consumer market for the world market. You can invest in this place for people in the UK. Take it around and sell it. Just like we are currently trying in energy. That is a big place to say. They will not come by showing this. We can sell our virgin market by showing it to our neighbors. ?
Absolutely. If you look at the size of our market, it is interesting to those who invest from afar and bring big investments. Sometimes there may not be that much of a match. Let’s say no one wants to come to the automobile industry. Now Nepal is carrying great potential. Here, amidst all the disappointment, Nepal is now growing a great deal of optimism. Let’s say it like this.
In the hydrogen energy sector, ammonia, which is used as a chemical fertilizer product, can be used to produce many other types of bioproducts, including that energy. In which Nepal is coming as an attractive destination country. Because we have abundant water availability. The other is that we have a surplus of energy.
That is, the situation has already started to spill over. Looking at these two, some studies of hydrogen in Nepal are showing. The cost of production is cheaper than many other countries and it is green based. That is, it is in the green energy group. Some countries have tried to produce hydrogen. But they have a petroleum base. They have a gas base.
Talk about Russia or some Gulf countries are also trying now. That is not carbon free. In that case, because of the potential of that strength Nepal has, such big outsiders, who host trillions of investments in Nepal. Invite.
It seems that Nepal has such possibilities and their attraction towards them is increasing. So, there is a possibility that we can bridge foreign investment in such matters.
That must have been the agenda. I will meet with the chamber organizations there quarterly. Jamla in the big houses. Let’s discuss. Let’s bring them here. Let’s convince the government for the investment summit. What are you doing in the phase of further acquisition planning? My team is small. Now, in many places, our diplomatic missions do not have a very large team. Our size of economy also does not allow us to spend much. How can I maximize economic diplomacy within that? I can activate myself more. I can activate the team.
Keeping that part in mind, I have already had some discussions with various parts. Some are UK best counter parts. Or some are elsewhere. I have had those discussions with them and for that, to set up some kind of team, whatever team is needed. To identify the team, to build the team, sometimes technology is needed, sometimes human resources are needed.
A little bit dedicated. I am doing that work. On the one hand, there is the matter of figuring out what to do. On the other hand, there are also the resources required for that. Without those resources matching, it is not enough to just see a dream or just make a road map. In all these things, the counter parts on the other side may be some chambers of commerce industries. Some may be academic centers of excellence.
Where is the potential? There are some British or Nepalese of Nepali origin with great potential in the Nepali diaspora. Which I think we have now come to a position where Nepal can take help from its diaspora for its prosperity. Some are of the first generation, some are of the second generation. Diaspora.
India or Bangladesh is able to use the diaspora there in its diplomacy in that part, first, second, third generation. India has even some multinational organizations, let’s talk about the World Bank or ADB. They are able to use their diasporic presence present in those organizations. We also have to move forward in those matters. I am trying to practice in that part too.
But unfortunately. You who represent Nepal and run missions abroad. You lead them. The larger people do not believe that they will work. There are two reasons for that. One is what will they do when they go there? ## It is a replication of what their relatives who have lived there say. It may be based on the messages that come from there. The next thing is that the government changes every 6-6 months. One government sends. The other government calls them for free. With what psychology should those who go go ? I don’t know how long they will be able to stay. They may have to come back again. Are all the problems still there ?
What he demands in the second part more than the first part is the part of our institutions, institution building. We need a little stability in that part. We also need that in diplomacy. First, let’s think 10 times before sending an ambassador. Who to send? Who not to send? In the part of saying.
But after making a good decision and selecting a good person, if we give stability, then at least he has to be given a certain amount of time to perform and win the game. Then the game is not won. Otherwise, if a player who plays well is thrown out in the middle, the game can be lost sometimes. We also see it in World Cups. Therefore, if we work in this way in such a part, then the diplomacy mission can work. It cannot. It can work even in the midst of all the resource gaps.
Our diplomacy missions are capable. In many places, diplomats who can perform better than other counter parts are available within our system. But let them work.
But this sending of the shards, ##is it a diplomatic insult to the country?
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## I think we will definitely do well in that part in the coming days. Let’s take it in a positive way. Let’s take it in a way that diplomacy performs and lets it work.
Even tourists from the country with which Nepal has the longest diplomatic relations are not coming very often, right? Should we believe this or not? ? We are at a point where we are not sure if it is too much or not. ?
This could be expanded upon a bit. What did I find, even though I am a researcher accustomed to the practice of analyzing data? But we have been bringing in at least 1 million plus a year. For the last few years. So if we work a little harder from the UK, we can contribute 100,000 within a few years. That is, we can increase the number of visitors. But if we work on it, if we work a little better and work a little more purposefully, we will also provide the resources that it needs, and we have stakeholders who will work on it.
Within the government too. We have various institutes working on it. Like the Ministry of Tourism. Nepal Tourism Board. Similarly, on the non-governmental side, there are various agencies including Han Tan. If we can create a balanced kind of collaboration of all these, it will be possible.
The quantity of tourists coming to Nepal is one thing. Their quality is how much they can spend when they come here. How much spending people have we brought in? The other part of that is, what have we created for them to come here and spend openly? –##What have we created for them to spend freely? ##? ##The part is also added. Where are we ready to spend? ##
This is a good debate. Should we emphasize more on quality or more on numbers? It is a question within tourism. Some countries emphasize more on quality in that regard. They formulate policy strategies accordingly. They implement them. Some countries give priority to numbers. However, we were able to extend their number of stays.
We were able to increase their expenses within Nepal. We were able to provide various activities, isn’t that the activity itself that increases expenses? To increase those activities, different infrastructures are needed. Investments are needed. So that the tourist gets different types of activities to engage himself. You are seeing. Some countries where there are no mountains. Some natural beauty that we have. It may not be there.
Even in such a situation, they are able to bring tourists from all over the world by preparing various facilities and infrastructure. Then how much can we provide activities to engage them. It depends on that. If we can provide that, we can bring more quality tourists.
We were just receiving a piece of information yesterday. Macau won over America. As a casino capital. That could have been a tool to attract tourism. We also had to look at new places like this.
Different are their own approaches. Some may work on that approach. Some may have other types of approaches. Again, what is the comparative advantage when using approaches? It is better to rely on that more. Rather than looking for a comparative advantage that we do not have, we should rely on the comparative advantage that we have because we have different types of landscapes. Different types of cultures. Different types of languages, customs, festivals. This is a comparative advantage for us. It may not be the case in some countries. At this level. But what we have. Having said that, if we prepare our package by looking at that, we will probably win more.
Britain is a country where Nepalis, probably the second largest number of Nepali citizens after India, live. Dash is living as a child. Tens of thousands of students go there every year to study. But due to the rules there, we are also seeing painful stories of them being forced to sleep on the streets. Their protection is now also on your shoulders?
Now, I will have the opportunity to go and examine this situation. Wherever we can intervene, we will intervene. But while saying this, what should I say? Where should Nepali students go? Where should they not go? Which window should they go through? Which. Should they not go through? What preparations should they make? Those things should also be taken into account. If we can do that, we can probably control some of the risks that we may encounter in time. However, since our diplomatic mission will be present there, we observe this issue. And where action needs to be taken, we will intervene on our behalf.
We have heard stories of many colleges being closed in the past. Nepali youth who go there are more motivated to work and earn money in other ways than studying. They are lazy. They are running around there. It is also heard that. Colleges also require those who have to sit in class for a certain number of hours a week and then work outside. We find work ourselves. We hear stories like this. Looking at it this way, it seems that people went there to work rather than study. So, should we restructure it or ? Should we just send them after setting the criteria for scholarship or ? #Because we have sent them to study. They have also taken a large amount of dollars from here. There must have been pressure there too. People have started to wonder whether they should also go to a place where re–#structuring and rething is done.
What is the main thing? So we are going to acquire knowledge. We are going to acquire skills. So that we can also get technology transferred. We are going to go for what is needed for our economic reconstruction or for our prosperity. Where is it appropriate for them to go? In what way is it appropriate to go? If we can think about that, they will also benefit more. There will be an opportunity to benefit more for the country and the country’s economy. In that part, if everyone understands it in the same way, we can provide more benefits.
There are more than a dozen universities in Nepal. They are operating according to their status. Britain is a country where the modern education system was introduced and it is still a leading country today. By collaborating with the universities there, we can produce skilled human resources that can be adapted and compete with the world, and after being completely prepared, if that human resources were to run around the world, we would also gain a competitive advantage. What do you do now?
Of course. I am more interested in the answer I gave earlier. To be competitive, if we go to their Center of Excellence. If we go to a Center of Excellence instead of going wherever we can, then we will definitely be able to benefit more from the investment they have made in RND and education. For that, we have to make that kind of choice and go. Our economy and country can benefit from that. Those who go can also benefit more. If we accept it in that way, that is, if we go in a way that acquires knowledge, skills, and acquires knowledge, it will be more useful. It will be beneficial.
After staying with you for so long, it would be an injustice to this time if we are not asked about the rights of British Gurkhas. From time to time, this issue is raised from various angles within Nepal and even in the UK. It seems that the heads of government of Nepal have also discussed it in bilateral meetings. Once you reach this point, you will have a little more responsibility on your shoulders. How do you see it? What can be done? What can be done? We will have negotiations according to our strengths.
This issue has progressed a little but is still a matter that has yet to be resolved. This is due to the fact that those who retired before the deadline. Our Gorkha brothers. They are now looking for a solution to it with that revenge. For that, a committee has been formed bilaterally and it has also taken a technical report. On the basis of that, a joint mechanism has also been prepared and it has been negotiating.
While those negotiations are taking place, one is at the ambassadorial level, while the other is being negotiated technically. We have a record of the last two rounds of talks, which took place in March 2024. I see that if we bring this issue to a logical conclusion as soon as possible, this solution will also be faster and all parties will benefit positively from it. This is a priority issue. Considering the glorious relationship we have between Nepal and the UK, we are in favor of finding a solution as soon as possible.
You are living in the UK representing Nepal. You are going. Now you have reached the place we believe in. During your tenure, the rights of Nepali citizens in the UK will be well protected. Invest in the Diaspora there in your ancestral country. Play a role in its prosperity. You will also play a role. Those who are native there, ##Nepal is a safe destination for investment for them. You go and visit##, ##Understand the environment there. Invest there and get benefits. Your role in this campaign will be important.
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## Yes. Because that is what the Government of Nepal has expected and trusted me for and given this responsibility. For its promotion and fulfillment, I and my team will perform with strength throughout our term. We will deliver. We will make the most of the opportunity we have for the country, Nepal and the interests of the Nepalis.
Many conversations were held during the long stay. If you feel that there is still so much to add, please tell us ?
Finally, I would like to say. Diplomatic missions are directly involved in diplomacy. However, the success of diplomatic missions is the success of diplomacy. Diplomacy is essentially an instrument of foreign policy. Which works at the level of implementation. Its role is the role of an instrument. That part requires the support of many other stakeholders. That support may be from some stakeholders within the country. That is, from within Nepal. Some may be from there. What do I want to say at least through the media here? If all stakeholders, government, non-government, academic, and all parties support our diplomacy for its success, we can definitely deliver. I am expecting to receive that support and I am going to take responsibility for my mission soon.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्