Northern Friend

CLOSE on the heels of the state visit to India, His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev is paying a state visit to China from coming Tuesday. His Majesty the King’s state visit from July 9 to 15 is a significant one in that it is His Majesty’s first state visit to the northern neighbour. Naturally, the impending visit has generated much interest in Nepal and China as can be gleaned also from the comments made by the Chinese ambassador to Nepal and the Nepalese ambassador to China on Tuesday. Indeed, as the Chinese envoy Wu Congyong said in a message on Tuesday, Nepal’s relationship with China dates back centuries, the marriage between Nepali Princess Bhrikuti and King of Tibet Song Zan Gan Bu one thousand years ago only one of the many examples that history offers of deep historical ties and interactions between the two Asian neighbours and which lay the solid foundations for the present-day ties. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been strengthened to such a great degree that there is not a single intractable problem in Nepal-China ties, a view echoed by the Nepalese envoy to China Mr. Rajeshwar Acharya also. We only have, Mr. Wu said, friendship, goodwill, understanding and cooperation. The recent pronouncements from the Chinese government to support the Nepalese government’s efforts to restore peace and stability and provide all possible assistance also constitutes a reinforcement of China’s good neighbourly policy towards Nepal based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence.

The Chinese envoy’s confidence that His Majesty’s visit would further enrich the contents of our friendly interactions, and promote our bilateral relations to a higher level in the new millennium is shared by all watchers of Sino-Nepal ties. His Majesty’s visit is bound to be a grand success as His Majesty is known in China, a fact emphasised by Mr. Acharya who pointed out that five previous China visits by His Majesty precede this first state visit. Nepal’s one China policy and its steadfast aversion to allowing its soil to be used against any country have also helped maintain the close relationship between the two countries. Against all this background and on the basis of the historically problem-free Nepal-China relationship, the forthcoming royal visit to our northern neighbour promises successful outcome that could further deepen the ties between the two neighbours. All indications point to the fact that His Majesty’s state visit to Nepal’s close northern friend will have a far-reaching impact on the Sino-Nepal relations in the new century.

Japanese Cooperation

THE Japanese government has extended a grant assistance amounting to approximately Rs. 543, 472,000 to His Majesty’s Government under the debt relief measures in Japan’s fiscal year 2002. This is a continuation of such assistance to Nepal as debt relief measures since 1978. The current assistance is the first portion for the fiscal year 2002 under the said assistance scheme. This shows the degree of keen interest that Japan takes in the development endeavours of Nepal. All the financial and technical assistance that Japan has provided over the years underscored the goodwill and understanding that Japan has for Nepal. To find such a genuine friend in Japan, which is also the highest donor country to Nepal, is a matter of great fortune. The present assistance is for helping the government in procuring commodities such as construction materials, fertiliser, petroleum products, medicines, transportation related equipment and other materials essentials for carrying out development activities in the resource-crunched country like Nepal. According to news reports, Dr. Bimal Prasad Koirala, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, and Zengi Kaminaga, Japanese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Nepal signed and exchanged notes to this effect on behalf of their respective governments the other day.

Though geographically Nepal and Japan are separated by big distance, they have many similarities. First is that both believe in an atmosphere of peace and guided by the philosophy of Lord Buddha who was born in Nepal. The remarkable development that Japan has achieved must be an eye opener to all developing nations including Nepal. The mutual cooperation that exists between the two countries shows that the ties are strong. The economic giant that Japan is has found it supporting developing countries like Nepal in enhancing their economic status through mutual cooperation. The generous and liberal attitude of Japan when it comes to helping poorer nations merits praise. Japanese assistance in the development activities of Nepal has been immense since decades. Being the biggest development partner Japanese assistance to Nepal covers almost all the development sectors ranging from road transportation to telecommunications to hydel power project to promotion and development of Lumbini to health and education.