His Majesty to address civic reception

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

DHANGADHI, Apr. 2: His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev will address the civic reception organised by the people of the Far-Western Development Region in honour of Their Majesties the King and Queen here on Friday. Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who arrived Wednesday afternoon in connection to overseeing preparations of the civic felicitations, disclosed this royal schedule.

In reply to a question regarding the possible tours of Their Majesties to rural areas of the region following the Dhangadhi ceremony, the Prime Minister said that it would be made public later.
Prime Minister Chand said that the visit of Their Majesties would have positive impacts on the peace process to take permanent shape. “This Royal visit will spur new vigour and enthusiasm for the reconstruction of the Far-Western Region,” he said. The upcoming event of Royal honour has circulated a renewed inspiration in the people from all sectors of the society, he said.

The Royal visit plays a very positive role by highlighting the problems of this region both at the national and international levels, said the Prime Minister. “This is certainly a matter of happiness for the people of the area,” he added.

Chand pledged that the government would materialise the vision of all round development as wished by the people and directed by His Majesty the King. The development works that have picked up momentum now is positive thing, the Prime Minister said. “The works that had faced a snag in the past have now been set into motion. Do you want this not to happen?” Chand asked.

Chand after inspecting the preparations made for the civic felicitation programme, said he was satisfied with the works carried out. “I am happy with the publicity works and other preparations,” said Chand.

Bhagawat Mahapuran

RSS

KAVREPALANCHOK, Apr. 2: Member of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee Dr. Swami Prapannachaya initiated the ‘Srimad Nawah Bhagawat Mahapuran’ religious ceremony at Ward No. 7 of Chittapol VDC in Sanga today.On the occasion, the Swami said that it is the prime responsibility of each and every Nepali to protect and preserve the religion, culture, customs and tradition of Nepal which is the only Hindu kingdom in the world.President of the temple construction committee Dol Bahadur Karki presided.

Political stability essential for economic development

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Apr. 2: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand today appealed for political stability in a bid to give continuity to the all round economic development of the nation. He also expressed hope that the concerned sections of the society would cooperate.

Inaugurating the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), Prime Minister Chand said that the entire nation was heading for permanent peace after the cease-fire. At this juncture, we seek support from all in the process of nation building and development, he said.
Despite the many hurdles, the business community has extended meaningful support to economic development, said Prime Minister Chand at the function.

The private sector has played an important role in fostering the liberal economic policies of His Majesty’s Government. As Nepal is bracing to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the government is in the process of reviewing the existing industrial and foreign investment policies in order to widen Nepal’s competitive edge in the international market, he said.

Prime Minister Chand also pointed out the need to generate awareness to establish a sustainable trading system to reap more benefits from global trade. Product quality plays a vital role in global trade, hence due attention should be paid to this aspect. Besides, reducing the cost of production as well as services is essential, he added.

He also reiterated that the government was always ready to bring about structural and procedural reforms for healthy economic growth. “We are ready to work in tandem with the private sector to accelerate economic growth,” he added. Speaking at the function, Minister for Finance Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha informed that necessary homework for the upcoming budget estimates were underway. It is not possible to increase revenue and provide relief to the business community at the same time, he said.

To bring about banking sector reforms, the government is soon bringing out three more acts through ordinances. Besides, an act relating to debt management will be implemented soon, he said.
Finance Minister Shrestha also informed that more than Rs. 10 billion had been spent on development in the running fiscal year. Similarly, revenue collection will exceed by more than six per cent this year over last fiscal year.

He also urged the business community to make recommendations for a wider tax net in the coming fiscal year (2060-2061).  Minister for Industry Commerce and Supplies Mahesh Lal Pradhan said that raising the price of petroleum products was a compulsion due to external factors. Chairman of the NCC Rajesh Kazi Shrestha said that the economic agenda should be given priority in the Government-Maoist peace talks. The business community is ready to support the government in minimising the impact of the Gulf war on the Nepalese economy, he said.

Sub-regional meet to discuss issues of landlocked nations

By Bhuwaneshor Sharma

KATHMANDU, Apr. 2: A Sub-regional meeting of landlocked and transit countries begins in the capital tomorrow (Thursday). The two-day meeting will discuss issues of common concerns and problems faced by the landlocked countries in the sub-region.

Five countries: China, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal are taking part in the sub-regional meeting. The meeting also involves transit countries like India and China, as they cannot be detached from the problem of landlocked countries.

The meeting is being organised at the initiative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The Joint-Secretary level meeting is expected to discuss a wide range of issues and problems relating to transit and transportation of the landlocked countries. Purushottam Ojha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, Supplies and Industry, is coordinating the meeting.
The meeting will carve out the sub-regional view of the landlocked countries, which will be discussed further during a series of regional and international meetings of the landlocked countries to take place this year, said officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A regional meeting will take place in the Thai capital of Bangkok later this month, which will be followed by the first and second preparatory committee meetings in New York and Kazakastan this year. The final ministerial meeting will be held in Kazakastan later this year.

Representatives at the meeting will emphasise on special transit and transport facilities from the transit countries. Two-way problems relating to the transit and trade facilities exist between landlocked and the transit countries, said Dr. Yubraj Khatiwada, member of the National Planning Commission.

The problems faced by all the landlocked countries are similar. Landlocked countries face transit, road, route and trade-related problems while the transit nations face traffic congestion problem, said Dr. Khatiwada. Both landlocked Nepal and Bhutan will demand uninterrupted transportation with their transit countries.

Malaysia allows Nepal to openembassy

From Lok Deep Thapa

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr. 2: A cabinet meeting of the Malaysian government held today decided to allow Nepal to open the Nepalese Embassy at the Charge D’ Affairs level here.

Malaysian Transport Minister Dr. Ling Liong Sik said this addressing a joint press conference organised by the national flag carrier Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter to mark the inaugural flight of RNAC to Kuala Lumpur.

The opening of the embassy will be of much help for over 80,000 Nepalese workers working here.
Dr. Sik said that the governments of Malaysia and Nepal are discussing issues regarding increasing the number of Nepalese workers in Malaysia.

‘Dhangadhi event to bring King, people closer’

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

DHANGADHI, Kailali, Apr. 2: On the eve of the civic reception of Their Majesties the King and Queen by the people of the Far-Western Region of the country, the head of the civic reception organising main committee has expressed his belief that the keenly awaited event would deepen the ties between the monarch and the people.

Traditionally the King, after the accession to the throne, pays visits to different parts of the country. “The Dhangadhi event is part of the same royal tradition which, I hope, will take the existing monarchy-people relations further closer,” Nain Bahadur Swar, member of Rajparishad and chief of the civic felicitations organising main committee told The Rising Nepal, Wednesday.

Swar, who is also ex-home minister, came down heavily on those who are trying to undermine the close bond between the King and the people saying that such a negative view sharply contradicts with the unanimous principle of all the Nepalis that monarchy is the unifying force of the nation.
“Such a view and activities aimed at dividing the King and the people make no sense and will have no effects whatsoever on the popular will,” said Swar, 76.

Putting the issue of lasting peace on top of anything else, Swar said that political parties should focus on finding an outlet from the situation where the nation is lying in a state without representatives. “It is high time the political parties and His Majesty the King together find a permanent settlement of the problems. The party leaders should understand that situation for elections is not going to turn conducive until permanent peace is ensured,” said the Rajparishad member.

On the one hand, the political parties failed to hold parliamentary elections as they had scheduled. On the other, they are not cooperating on the peace process of the country. The past the monarch, said Swar. Talking about the preparations for the civic I hope more than 100,000 people from all walks of life will participate in the civic felicitations, said Swar. In case the Open Air Theatre will not be enough to hold all the participants, large TV screens would be installed at several points of the town to show the live proceedings of the royal felicitations on Friday.

According to Swar, transport entrepreneurs are supporting to facilitate the mobility of the people pouring in to Dhangadhi for the event. He said that financial support for organising the event has come from interested people and business community. People have volunteered to make the event a grand success by contributing cash, kind and services from their respective fields and occupations.
The total expenditure for the event is estimated at Rs. 3 million. The organising main committee has collected a fund of more than 2 million rupees.

Malaysia to issue honourable visas to Nepalese

From Ballav Dahal /Jhapendra Gahire

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr. 2: Malaysia is launching a massive promotional campaign in Nepal for the promotion of tourism and trade, as it has included the Himalayan Kingdom in the list of focal countries for the year 2003.

Malaysia is going to issue 14-day long honourable visas for Nepalese travellers at the Kuala Lumpur AirportMalaysian Tourism Minister Dato Paduka Abdul H. J. Sheikh Fadzir told a Nepalese delegation about this here today. The delegation is led by Assistant Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabi Bhakta Shrestha.

The Nepalese team and the Malaysian Minister discussed issues related to promoting trade and tourism between the two countries. Mohan Prasad Khanal, Managing Director of Royal Nepalese Airlines Corporation (RNAC), told The Rising Nepal that the Malaysian Tourism Minister was very positive in promoting trade and tourism in Nepal.

Other members of the Nepalese team included Narendra Bajracharya, President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), RNAC’s MD Khanal, and government officials.