Peace Niti

The way the developed world is going to view terrorism and insurgency is going to be far more different now, and they will be more liberal in supporting governments to quash any sort of insurgent activities. Also the stance that India has taken is along those lines, therefore the quicker Nepal has peace the better. All nations are going to have security problems but the nations that are going to do best for peace would be those that can boast of peace. This may be the solution for the Tourism industry that is suffering. Nepal should again raise the issue of Zone of Peace and at this point of time India will find it hard not to consent as the initiatives world wide are focusing on peace.

One of the industries that are sustainable in the long-term in Nepal has is tourism and given the environment of peace, it can boom. The importance of Nepal as the birth place of Buddha, an icon of peace, has never been leveraged. Compare the tourism arrivals at Vatican or Mecca each year. The inauguration of a statue of Buddha in Malaysia recently saw more than a million people attending in just a week. Why would not they come to Nepal if they knew Nepal is a tourist destination. Coupled with the great strength of smiling people, a trait that all tourists who came to Nepal acknowledge as being the best in their experience, Nepal does have a chance of doing wonders.

A peaceful nation means lower risks for investors leading to more investment, domestic and foreign. It also means lesser incidence of crime which brings down insurance premiums, as the perception of country risk reduces. The gains to the economy can be immense.

After all the events in the world that have taken place, and will take place, what is now important for Nepal is to really examine what it likes its future to be. An opportunity perhaps has emerged where the country can pull its act together and leverage peace as a differentiation.