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Posts tagged as “Nepal”

More US aid to consolidate democracy

Report in The Kathmandu Post, Feb 8, 2023On her first day of Nepal visit, US Agency for International Development Administrator (USAID) Samantha Power announced that the agency would provide up to $58.5 million to advance democratic progress in Nepal, subject to the availability of funds. According to the US Embassy in Kathmandu, $40.2 million of this announcement is part of the $659 million development objective agreement announced in 2022. Power arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday…

Foreign policy will be reviewed, Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal says

Report in The Kathmandu Post,Feb 2, 2023The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing to review Nepal’s foreign policy document unveiled in December, 2020. Talking to reporters at the ministry on Wednesday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bimala Rai Paudyal said that after consultations inside the ministry and with major political parties, the policy will be updated and published for wider use. The then KP Sharma Oli government in 2020 had unveiled the 31-page document that encompasses…

Maoist Centre, which leads government, is trying to form a sub-alliance

by Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, January 27th, 2023The ruling Maoist Centre is working to form a new sub-alliance in partnership with the Janata Samajbadi Party, the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Nepal Samajbadi Party. Of late, they are exploring ways to forge a working partnership. After top leaders of the Maoist Centre, CPN (Unified Socialist) and Janata Samajbadi Party met on Sunday, the parties’ talks teams and the task forces have expedited their…

Nepal to propose two new cross-border transmission lines with India

by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, January 26, 2023Nepal will propose developing two new Nepal-India cross-border transmission lines during the upcoming high-level meetings on energy between the two neighbours. As hydropower production has been growing in the country amid limited consumption, Nepal must sell more power to India to avoid spillage. For this, reliable infrastructure for cross-border transmission of power is necessary, officials say. Nepal plans to discuss constructing two new high capacity…

China proposes a meeting in February for cross border power line in Nepal

by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, January 24, 2023China has proposed a visit by a Chinese team to Nepal in February to hold a third round of discussions regarding the development of the Nepal-China Cross Border Transmission Line. A Joint Technical Group comprising representatives of the Nepal Electricity Authority and the State Grid Corporation of China had previously held two rounds of talks in China and Nepal, respectively, for the transmission line before…

Nepal and Bangladesh lobby India for corridor to trade electricity

by Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 12, 2023The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) says it has sought approval from the Indian authorities to export 40-50 MW of electricity to Bangladesh through India’s existing transmission infrastructure, in line with an agreement reached between Nepal and Bangladesh in August. The two countries in August last year had decided to request the southern neighbour to allow export of 40-50MW of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh in…

Unified Socialist forms task force amid left unity talks

Report in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 6, 2023 Nearly two years after the dissolution of the powerful Nepal Communist Party that was formed after a merger between the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre), the CPN (Unified Socialist) on Thursday formed a four-member task force to explore the possibility of unity among left-leaning political forces in Nepal. CPN (Unified Socialist) Deputy General Secretary and spokesman Jagannath Khatiwada said the four-member task force is led by…

Nepal ranks 110th in Corruption Perceptions Index

Report in Kathmandu Post, Jan 31, 2023Nepal has been ranked in 110th position out of 180 countries and territories in the Corruption Perceptions Index. According to Corruption Perceptions Index 2022, an annual flagship publication of Transparency International, a global anti-corruption group based in Berlin, made public on Tuesday, Nepal made a slight improvement by climbing seven positions in the global rankings. Nepal was ranked in the 117th position in 2021. Transparency International uses a scale…

Nepal is a champion country for fair recruitment, but on paper only, observers say

Report in Kathmandu Post, Jan 31, 2023Nepal is considered one of the champion countries of “Objective 6” of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, commonly known as GCM. The objective is to facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguarding conditions that ensure decent work. However, the reality is different. The data from Recruitment Advisor, a global recruitment and employment review platform shows, many migrant workers still pay exorbitant amounts of recruitment fees…

NC gen secys pledge to rejuvenate party

report in The Himalayan Times, Jan 01, 2023KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31Nepali Congress general secretaries Gagan Kumar Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma issued a joint statement today vowing to change the party from a state of frustration and confusion to a state of opportunities to rejuvenate the party. In their National Reconciliation Day statement, the duo, who advocate handover of party leadership to new and young faces, said there should be seriousness in this adverse situation and…

Is the new Pokhara airport under China’s BRI radar?

by Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, Jan 1, 2023At a time when Kathmandu says no project under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has been signed and Nepal and China are working to finalise the text of project implementation under the BRI, the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu made a surprise announcement on Saturday. Just a day ahead of the inauguration of Pokhara International Airport by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Chinese Embassy wrote in…