'Nepal not to Play One Card against Other Neighbor'

Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that “Traditionally and historically, we have been consistently following a policy of having good relations and ties of mutual co-operation with both India and China as a matter of priority. This is the only viable way for a country of such strategic location, irrespective of any Government in power in Nepal.

PM Nepal made these observations while inaugurating a one day seminar organized by Center for South Asian Studies, CSAS, in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation, KAF, Germany, today, October 21, 2009, in Kathmandu.

The title of the seminar was, "Nepal's National Interest: Policies and Recommendation".

Prime Minister Nepal mentioned that Nepal as a nation-state have had no desire or whatsoever to play one card against the other neighbor.

He stated that “In our ties and interactions with our two neighbors and in that case with any other country, we don’t have any desire to play any card or use relationship with one against the other. Our supreme national interest lies in building bridges of friendship and co-operation and interlink our economic, technical, trade and investment relations with our two great neighbors that have emerged as the economic power houses in recent years”.

Assuring the immediate neighbors in the North and the South, Nepal prime Minister reiterated that “we are sensitive to the genuine concerns of our friends. We have consistently emphasized on our policy of not allowing our territory against the interest of any country”

He, however, demanded reciprocity as well from both the neighbors as regards the genuine national concerns of Nepal by stating that “It is in this context that we also seek to be assured of similar sentiments of support and co-operation from friendly countries in our bid for promoting our national interests”.

He further said, “As a country scrupulously following the principles of Panchsheel and five principles of peaceful co-existence, and basic tenets of Non-aligned Movement, our fundamental national interest relating to foreign policy also lies in further strengthening the United Nations as the custodian of global peace and stability”.

 Nepal prime Minister touched upon the national politics and expected that a sort of political consensus was all the more important not only for the smooth going of the domestic politics but also for the preservation of Nepal’s genuine national interests.

Look what he says: “While it is extremely desirable to build consensus among political parties in the country on domestic politics, it is all the more essential on the part of political forces to build consensus in terms of our most vital national interest.  It is in this context that all of us have to accord highest priority to safeguarding sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity”.

Full text of PM Nepal’s speech follows:

Begin text:

I am very pleased to attend this inaugural session of the one-day conference on ‘Nepal’s National Interest: Policies and Recommendations’ jointly organized by the Centre for South Asian Studies and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation today and share thoughts and opinions with such a galaxy of intellectuals and friends. I thank the Centre for South Asian Studies for its important initiative in this connection. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) also deserves our due appreciation for its association with the conference.

The domain of national interest has intimate connections with both domestic and foreign policies. It is, indeed, a very comprehensive and holistic matter comprising of a country’s goals that may range from the protection and promotion of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity to the achievement of its political, social, economic, trade, security and cultural objectives. National interest is normally projected on the basis of national needs and aspirations.

National interest is generally a permanent feature of a country’s foreign policy even though it may change with the changes in domestic milieu and international environment. It is in this context that a British Prime Minister of the nineteenth century appropriately stated that nations did not have a permanent foreign policy but only permanent national interest. In recent years, over-arching and cross-cutting issues like global warming and climate change, environment, economic crisis and financial meltdown, food security, energy supply, etc., have assumed greater importance as the parameters of national interest for many countries.

In the Nepalese context, the undertaking of an exercise for the attainment and identification of national interest is of primary significance. This is all the more important due to our geo-political position of being situated between two big neighbors. Traditionally and historically, we have been consistently following a policy of having good relations and ties of mutual co-operation with both India and China as a matter of priority. This is the only viable way for a country of such strategic location, irrespective of any Government in power in Nepal.

In our ties and interactions with our two neighbors and in that case with any other country, we don’t have any desire to play any card or use relationship with one against the other. Our supreme national interest lies in building bridges of friendship and co-operation and interlink our economic, technical, trade and investment relations with our two great neighbors that have emerged as the economic power houses in recent years. We wish to take advantage of the tremendous scale of economic and technical development in these countries, promote greater connectivity with them and enhance our endeavours for rapid socio-economic transformation. Expansion of fruitful ties of friendship and co-operation with all countries and promotion of peace and stability in the world are other priorities of our foreign policy.

We are sensitive to the genuine concerns of our friends. We have consistently emphasized on our policy of not allowing our territory against the interest of any country. It is in this context that we also seek to be assured of similar sentiments of support and co-operation from friendly countries in our bid for promoting our national interest. As a country scrupulously following the principles of Panchsheel and five principles of peaceful co-existence, and basic tenets of Non-aligned Movement, our fundamental national interest relating to foreign policy also lies in further strengthening the United Nations as the custodian of global peace and stability.

You are kindly aware that I paid a successful official visit to India some time ago with the objective of further consolidating our multi-dimensional relations. I am planning to visit China at a mutually convenient time with the same objective. I also had the occasions to hold fruitful talks with many world leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh and New York on further developing Nepal’s relations and mutual co-operation with other countries. We want to make the best use of our available human and material resources and seek external co-operation to accelerate our endeavours for faster socio-economic development and thereby promote our national interest of achieving a new and prosperous Nepal.

While it is extremely desirable to build consensus among political parties in the country on domestic politics, it is all the more essential on the part of political forces to build consensus in terms of our most vital national interest.  It is in this context that all of us have to accord highest priority to safeguarding sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity. At the same time, it is very essential on the part of political forces in the country to have a consensus on utilizing our natural endowments like water resources.  In fact, the Government prefers to pursue a policy of evolving national consensus on vital matters of our national interest like the optimum exploitation of our water resources, ensuring an effective system of food supply, reversing negative impact of climate change, protection of the unique Himalayan ecosystem with exotic flora and fauna, and conservation of our precious archaeological and cultural heritage for our posterity, etc. At the same time, we have to build consensus on some core issues in order to promote our national interest of developing and sustaining an enduring system of democratic governance in the country.

 While we are conscious of the need to safeguard and consolidate our domestic and foreign policies taking into account our permanent national interest and emerging issues of contemporary importance, the Government of Nepal has accorded top priority to three immediate objectives. We are keen to take the home-driven peace process to its positive and meaningful conclusion with active participation, concurrence, consent and consensus of major political forces in the country to sustain the political gains made by the country during the last three years. The re-constituted Special Committee and the Technical Committee are actively engaged towards this end with a time-bound work schedule.

The second objective is to draft a new constitution in consonance with the aspirations of our people that were so obviously manifested during the people’s movement of 2006 with a view to institutionalizing some core aspects like democracy, republican order, federalism, rule of law, human rights and inclusion. With the election of the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee in the Constituent Assembly and collection and incorporation of various suggestions of our people, all political parties represented in the legislature are committed to join hands and ensure promulgation of the new constitution within the stipulated timeframe. There is no other alternative on the part of political parties both in the Government and outside to rise above partisan interests and follow a pragmatic policy to take the country out of the current state of political transition.

While these two political aspects have remained our most important and fundamental objectives for bringing about an era of durable peace, stability and progress, the Government is fully aware of the need to accelerate social and economic transformation of the country through increased and effective mobilization of both internal and external resources.  Political goals of peace process and constitution writing, and rapid socio-economic development are, in fact, inter-related and they reinforce each other. As sustainable development and enduring system of pluralist democracy are two of the fundamental aspects of our national interest, the Government is keen to pursue and promote economic diplomacy through increased and active involvement of our diplomatic missions and private sector.

I am pleased to know that experts and professionals are presenting various papers on relevant aspects of defining, articulating and safeguarding our national interest particularly in respect of changed national political context, foreign policy, national security, economic stability and trade, and related matters that are sure to invite lively discussions and interactions. I can assure you that the Government will give due attention to your pertinent inputs and suggestions and hope that these recommendations may serve as valuable guidelines in taking policy decisions to safeguard and promote our national interest.

End text.

Posted on : 2009-10-21 14:30:00

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