Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Opinion

--H.E. Franz Ring, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nepal

The Nepalese-German Government Negotiations on Economic Cooperation take place at a historic moment when the country is undergoing a political transformation with significant implications not only for Nepal but also for the entire region. After more than 10 years of armed insurgency it is high time to find a solution to the armed conflict. In this connection it is essential to concentrate on a forward looking strategy developed by the Seven Party Alliance and the Government for the resolution of this top priority challenge. The Nepalese people, after having terribly suffered under the armed conflict deserve peace.

As a friend of Nepal and partner in development for many decades, Germany welcomes the peace process, the Peace Agreement of 8 November and the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 21 November 2006. The peace agreements are historic milestones in Nepal’s history, marking the end of a long-lasting armed conflict. The German government hopes that the comprehensive peace agreement provides the basis for a sustainable peace in Nepal and for re-establishing stable democratic structures. Germany is confident that the interim constitution, the interim legislature and the new interim government will be in place as soon as possible in order to move the peace process forward. It hopes that this process allows for free and fair elections to take place and to enable all people in Nepal to conduct a peaceful life in the future.

Despite the breathtaking speed of the process in recent weeks there are tremendous challenges ahead in the months to come. The people of Nepal are entitled to live by the rule of law. It is important to re-establish law and order in the country and that civilians are able to live without fear. The German government is worried regarding the present level of fear and intimidation which prevails in the whole of the country, in particular in rural areas.

Since May 2006 we have witnessed an impressive improvement in the human rights situation in Nepal. Since then, virtually no new human rights abuses by the state or security forces were reported. Unfortunately the human rights abuses by the Maoists continue unabated. There is no place for forced recruitment in particular of child soldiers, for forced recruitment of demonstrators, for abductions, for extortion and for political violence in general. Such human rights abuses have been and are unacceptable and have to be condemned in the strongest terms. The German government supports in this connection the important work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Human Rights Commission and other human rights org in Nepal. Germany also supports the efforts of the United Nations in helping the two sides to make the peace process a success.

Germany is ready to support the peace process. Apart from its share in international efforts-like for example the commissioning of EU observers-Germany is also prepared to assist bilaterally. Further details might be discussed during the course of the negotiations.

Opening remarks made by Ambassador Franz Ring on the occasion of the Nepal-German Negotiations held November 28 in Kathmandu-ed. Text courtesy: Embassy of Germany in Nepal-ed.

Nepal ’s water resources has the capacity of generating 83,000 mega watts of hydro power

Prof. Bishwa Pradhan, Former Foreign Secretary, Nepal

Far-reaching changes have taken place in the world causing a metamorphosis in the socio-economic and political structure of every country. The metamorphosis has been particularly evident in recent years making it incumbent on the part of every nation of the globe, in every nook and corner, to react to events with caution and responsibility. It has now been a common phenomenon to the countries of every region to join hands within a framework of collective cooperation to promote and safeguard their interests and priorities in the context of the emerging era of globalism. The regional frameworks in the throw of this global competitive context everywhere is being caught up, which is truly revolutionary in their spirit, dimension and development, whether it is LAFTA, NAFTA, EU, APEC, GULF Council, ASEAN, Arab League or OAU etc; all regional arrangements are gaining ground in their own way. The consolidation and expansion of ASEAN at our neighborhood, establishment of BIMST-EC, the economic miracle of China and the burgeoning economic growth of India and her rapid and significant advancement in science and technology, specially in IT and bio-technology, have greatly enamored the South Asian region.

Against the backdrop of such tremendous upsurges in the horizon, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan and India, the seven nations of south Asia are grouped together to surge ahead to determine their future destiny. Over one fifth of the world population is concentrated in this region under SAARC umbrella, nearly half of which is gripped below poverty line. The region is afflicted by economic disrays, political instability, mal governance, violence, racial discriminations, religious bigotries, environmental degradation and sky-rocketing arms race. The refugee crisis, territorial disputes are some touchy issues which squarely impacting the peace and prosperity of the region. These are indeed major challenges ahead for SAARC to surmount.

Regional cooperation is intended to offset discontinuities imposed by national frontiers and thus increasing trade within the region, stimulating production, providing enhanced investment opportunities, and in some cases facilitating the movements of labor and capital as well as goods. It needs to be studied from a long range prospective as well as from the economic angle and to deal satisfactorily with them.

SAARC was born on December 1985 with the objective of Peace, freedom, social justice and economic prosperity in South Asia by fostering mutual understanding, good neighborly relations and meaningful cooperation amongst the countries of the region.

SAARC is entering into its twenty first year after completing its two decades of existence. Over the years, it moved meticulously ahead by identifying some areas of cooperation for the social and economic advancement of the region; many of which are included in the Social Charter. The adoption of the Social Charter is a historic achievement since it has accorded highest priority to poverty alleviation in South Asian region. The implementation of it should be treated as the great step forward towards raising the standard of living of the peoples of the region.

The SAARC Plan of Action adopted by the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad together with Social Charter is another great milestone to tackle and implement the multi-dimensional aspects of development to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It intends to execute 12 measures of internal and 4 measures for external policies to bring about a balanced and sustainable development of the region.

The third significant achievement of the Islamabad SAARC Summit in January 2004 has been the adoption of SAFTA after long and extensive discussions and deliberations held at the level of experts’ committee. The proposed unfolding of a new trading zone which is now underway is a complex task. Thanks to the committee of experts whose painstaking task has given a definite and purposeful shape to it, although some hectic last minute touches are being worked out before the 13th Dhaka summit.

The SAARC agreements on investment promotion and avoidance of double taxation are important packages of economic cooperation, which are at the point of consensual reach particularly after the visit of Prime Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan to all seven member countries as the past chairman of SAARC. He had then spelled out the possibility over signing of the treaty on mutual investment and a treaty on avoidance of double taxation at the forthcoming SAARC Summit in Dhaka. This was echoed by the ministerial meeting of the SAARC Commerce and Industry ministers’ meeting held in Islamabad in November 2004 towards the process of smoothening the free trade regime in South Asia. The ministerial meeting had also deliberated on the subjects of preparation of the sensitive list of products, transfer of technology to LDCs, the rules on the origin of the products and the compensatory provisions to the less developed and backward member countries in the case of loss of revenue etc. besides adopting a common position on trade issues at the WTO meetings. The ministerial meet also had proposed to a setting up of a high level economic forum emphasizing the need to ease the possible hindrances that may crop up in the process of implementing the free trade zone within the specific dateline in south Asia.

The ten member country ASEAN, committed to complete the task of free trade zone by 2010, signed an agreement with China last year which was targeted to creating world’s biggest free trade zone, the objective to reducing average customs duties amongst them to between zero and 5 percent. China pledged to provide some special leeway or some extended time period to the poorer ASEAN countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

In South Asia, we have two sets of countries rich and developing side by side to the poor, weaker and least developed countries. Real meaningful climate for free trade zone will be less likely if the basic interests and the need priorities of the landlocked and LDCs are not properly addressed enabling them to proceed ahead hand in hand with their better-off partners. Only then SAARC can move ahead to grapple for a planned process to achieve the ultimate goal of South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) for the happy and prosperous future of South Asia in line with the trends as exemplified by the European Union (EU) of Western Europe.

With the adoption of all these important documents mentioned above, SAARC has reached to a stage to concentrate how best it can achieve the millennium development goals in a pro-active and positive manner. The time has now been set to focus on result-oriented course of action rather than resorting to the conventional practices of discussions.

If we follow the track record of SAARC road map to development, one should accept the fact that it has a slow progress to show to the world at large. Its poor performance is basically due to the internal and bilateral problems between the countries of the region which vitiated the atmosphere of collectively implementing the major SAARC decisions. The report issued by the group of experts, 2000 corroborates this slow process of development.

On Energy Development:

South Asian region is a land of potential power resources which, if properly harnessed, would change the economic landscape of the whole region. The richly endowed natural resources such as water potential of Nepal, Bhutan, India and Pakistan, the natural gas of Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the coal of India are in abundance for the generation of power (energy) which can be of tremendous benefit to the region. An Indian state-run energy company has made the country’s biggest gas discovery, an offshore bubble big enough to double the country’s gas production. The find made early on June, 2005 by the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) was estimated at 20 trillion cubic feet and to be worth about 50 billion dollars. As it has been emphasized by experts from different quarters, it would catapult the life style of the local peoples if these resources are properly managed and mobilized in a planned manner under regional or sub regional level cooperation. The need for greater economic cooperation in this sector is particularly so acute for which SAARC would be an ideal framework through which collective endeavor could be initiated in a timely fashioned manner.

Presently, per capita consumption of energy amongst the South Asian countries is very low (lower than even that of the sub-Saharan Africa) and the energy shortage has resulted in the low growth equilibrium in South Asia.

Development on the use of water resources, gas, coal and forests for the power generation at the level of regional power grid in South Asia is worth emulating following the South East Asian experience in this field. As it envisages high cost factor, the SAARC country's water projects, under joint development, supplement and complement the energy strength of South Asian countries to each other.

Nepal’s water resources, originating from the highest Himalayan mountain ranges of the world, extending over 2400 kilometer long from East Nepal to its Western part, has the capacity of generating 83,000 mega watts of hydro power potentiality, out of which Nepal has currently utilized generation of power which is less than 2 percent of its total production capacity. The availability of abundant water resources and the favorable geo-political features provide ample opportunities for the development of hydro-power in the region, for which Nepal proves itself as one second richest water resource country in the world. Generation of hydro-electricity with its multi-purpose uses, together with the maintenance of Himalayan ecology in line with the prescribed international guidelines within a framework of well-thought out water development planning strategy should be adopted under the given articles VIII and X of the SAARC Charter which has been emphasized by the declaration of the 11th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu on January 4-6, 2003.

SAARC initiation of specific development project to turn the inexhaustible white gold to better the economy of the region is one such area to be explored on a top priority basis which is likely to offer economic growth providing ample job and trade opportunities.

Excerpts from the author's paper presented at a regional seminar held in 2005 in Kathmandu-ed.