NATIONAL 1 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Enduring Importance

The two-day visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell carries long-term significance for the kingdom

By KESHAB POUDEL

For the first time in the 50 years since diplomatic ties were established, a high-level team from the United States led by Secretary of State Colin Powell concluded a two-day visit to Nepal. Although Powell's less than 20-hour stopover in Nepal contained little of significance for the Western media riveted on the tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, the visit was of considerable importance for the kingdom.

Struggling to cope with six years of Maoist violence, Nepal is facing one of the most challenging periods in its history. The support Powell threw behind the Nepalese government's effort to combat terrorism and safeguard democracy was very meaningful. The US secretary of state's visit also served to underscore that United States is very much concerned about developments in Nepal.

As a small landlocked country in South Asia, Nepal has geo-strategic importance in the region. Late King Birendra once described Nepal as a country linking the southern Gangetic plain to the central Asian high mountains.

Although the United States and Nepal made no concrete announcements in terms of bilateral cooperation, Powell's reaffirmation of Washington's support to Kathmandu's fight against terrorism represents a major gain for the kingdom. "We will support the right of the Nepalese government to protect its citizens and institutions from terrorism," said Powell. "We hope that the existing state of emergency will be for limited period of time."

Powell's discussions with senior Nepalese officials covered a wide range of issues, from trade to the democratization process, governance, human rights, terrorism and the need to limit the state of emergency.

Along with meeting King Gyanendra, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior officials of the Royal Nepalese Army, the former army general visited the Bauddhanath Stupa, one of the prominent places of Tibetan Buddhism. Whether it contained any diplomatic meaning or not, Powell's visit to the Bauddha stupa carried religious and cultural significance.

At a time when the United States stands as the world's unchallenged military and economic superpower, Powell's visit to Nepal must have generated more than passing interest in Nepal's northern and southern neighbors. "China and India carefully watched the US secretary of state's visit to Nepal, as both nation see a threat to their national interest in the growing US influence in the region," said a diplomat.

Interestingly, Powell's visit took place at a time when Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji was on his way to India on a six-day official visit. Although reaction from China and India is yet to come, Nepalese and US officials carefully avoided making remarks that would have ruffled either country.

"The visit was very important for Nepal as the US showed that is serious about ongoing terrorism activities and instability in Nepal," said Damodar Gautam, a former Nepalese ambassador to the United States. "Nepal will also benefit economically."

Two American journalists showed their knowledge about Nepal's economic condition by raising the situation of garment quotas for Nepal and the implication of the US State Department's advisory against travelers to Nepal.

Although critics say Nepal was not able to exploit Powell's visit, the country tried to avoid any unnecessary controversy. In his visit to Royal Nepalese Army headquarters, Powell discussed with senior army officers their operations against terrorism.

Powell also hinted that he would support moves to increase bilateral trade. "I am leaving Nepal with an understanding of Nepal's requirement. We will reconsider the issues before presenting the foreign aid program in Congress," said Powell.

Although United States has been a longtime supporter of Nepal's development efforts, it has given relatively low priority to Nepal in terms of diplomatic visits. Nepal is one of the first countries in the region with which the United States established diplomatic relations, in 1947, but the first resident ambassador arrived in Kathmandu only in 1959. Powell became the first high-level US official to visit Nepal since Vice-President Spiro Agnew's arrival three decades ago.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID, which was originally known as the US Operations Mission) became the first bilateral donor when the Point IV Agreement for Technical Cooperation was signed on January 23,1951. In the last 50 years, Nepal has witnessed dramatic changes in the areas of education, health, infrastructure, transportation and telecommunication. USAID has been a very important partner in Nepal's quest to build institutions and to carry out effective development programs.

At a broader level, Powell's visit demonstrated that the international community is aware of Nepal's challenges and sympathetic to its concerns.

“We Appreciate Nepal's Support In Fighting International Terrorism”

By Colin Powell,
Secretary of State of the United States of America

I am delighted to be here in Kathmandu to reaffirm our endearing friendship with Nepal and its people, and ladies and gentlemen, I have had excellent meetings with his Majesty and the Prime Minister and other Nepalese officials and I thank them for their hospitality.

I have long wanted to visit Nepal, a good friend of the United States since it opened to the world in 1951. Most Americans think of Mt. Everest when they think of Nepal. Nepal's mountains are in fact breathtaking, the mountains entice visitors here, but the Nepalese people soon captivate them with their warmth and friendliness. Nepal's strong tradition of tolerance and respect in a multiethnic, multicultural society is a model for us all. Nepal has come a long way in only half a century and especially since democratization in 1990. Life expectancy has increased by 30 years to age 56 and literacy has increased from under one percent to nearly fifty percent. Nepal's progress reminds us that openness and democracy offer the best future for the people of Nepal. I am proud of the role that the United States has played in Nepal's progress for more than 50 years. We have had strong USAID and Fulbright programs in Nepal and for the past 40 years a vibrant Peace Corps presence. As I assured my host, the United States is committed to helping the people of Nepal on the continuing path of development.

We are also committed to continuing to aid Nepal's economic development. We recognize that Nepal needs and wants foreign investment. To attract investment, Nepal needs peace. Nepal needs security. It also needs to combat corruption, increase transparency, and adopt a good regulatory framework to create a healthy investment climate. Nepal's adoption of such measures could enhance its candidacy for WTO (World Trade Organization) membership and this of course is a worthy goal.

I also thanked my host for Nepal's support in fighting international terrorism. President Bush and the American people deeply appreciate the condolences offered by Nepalese from all walks of life for our losses in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In turn, I offered condolences on behalf of President Bush and the American people for the tragic loss of so many members of the Nepalese Royal family last June. Unfortunately, Nepal is no stranger to violence as we have been tragically reminded by the recent attacks of Maoists on Nepal's people, police and military. There is no room for the use of violence to create political change in a democracy. We fully acknowledge the government of Nepal's right to protect its citizens and institutions from terrorist attacks. However, we hope that the current state of emergency will be of limited duration and we encourage the elected government to focus on protecting human rights while dealing with this emergency. Finally I offered my congratulations to my host on Nepal's successful hosting of the regional SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit at this crucial and difficult time in this region.

(Excerpts of remarks by Secretary of State Powell during his recent visit to Nepal)