Nepal and Finland Cooperating
for Development
--Esa Hurtig, Finland
Finland's development co-operation with Nepal
was commenced with fertilizer deliveries in 1983. The fertilizers obviously fell into a
favorable soil, because in a decade the cooperation has extended to quite a large and
carefully considered program.
A clear indication that the cooperation has
been fruitful is that at the moment Nepal- along with Vietnam- is Finland's most important
cooperation partner in Asia.
The cooperation is directed to those of
Nepal's national priority areas and in which Finland has expertise and long term
experience. Long term perspective and commitment from both sides is essential but in the
other hand, conditions for fruitful co-operation in the sectors concerned have to exist.
The activities concerned in forestry, rural
water supply, energy, telecommunication and topographic mapping. Alongside the program
covers support to family planning, preserving cultural traditions and training business
enterprises. Nepal is also benefiting from the regional and inter-regional training
projects financed by the Government of Finland.
The guiding principles if Finish development
cooperation is to alleviate large scale poverty, ward off environmental threats and
promote democracy, equality and the respect of human rights. All that in a sustainable way
which in a poor developing country means finding the right balance between growth,
environmental considerations and income distribution.
Decisions concerning cooperation are
naturally made jointly by HMG of Nepal and Government of Finland there is a tradition of
programming consultations between Nepal and Finland since 1988. The latest consultations
were held in December 1994.
So far cooperation has mainly been carried
out in the form of projects. Projects may well continue as the main form of assistance but
more often as contributions to comprehensive national sectoral plans. Criticism towards
technical assistance calls for new thinking on the part of donors but also clearer
policies from HMG's side concerning use of local expertise.
The cooperation has been extended in the
grant form but currently also the availability of concessional credit facilities are being
explored. This is in the line with the policy to deepen the cooperation into more
commercially oriented activities like business training, joint—ventures and
management contracts especially in the forestry, energy and external trade sectors.
Forestry has been and still is the most
important sector of the Fins cooperation. In every day life of the Nepalese people the
forests are source of energy, feed and raw material but they are also crucial to national
economy as a source of income. Forests—or their destruction—are also part and
parcel of the environmental problems in Nepal.
Finland financed and provided technical
assistance to the Forestry Sector Master Plan, which was endorsed by the Government in
1989. The Plan provided a framework for forestry development. A forestry policy and the
new forestry act are also based on the recommendations of the Master Plan.
Following the master plan, Finland pledged
support to the institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Forests and soil
Conservation. The forestry sector institutional strengthening program had components of
monitoring and evaluation, training and forest resource information. The program was
completed in 1993 but the forest resource information component continues as a separate
project.
Finland has supported the forest management
and utilization development project since 1990. The emphasis of the operations are in the
Terai and based on the findings and experience of the project a proposal has been made to
start harvesting operations in Bara district on a trial period of five years using private
companies or more precisely to have a Finnish—Nepalese joint venture making a
management contract with the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation.
Based on the recommendations of a study
concerning the management and the utilization of the Sagarmatha plantation in the Terai it
has been decided to establish a broad based working group to make a concrete proposal how
to develop Plantation into an enterprise with majority shareholding in the private sector.
Power is crucial for economic activity and
improvement of quality of life as well. For Nepal power supply will be a severe bottleneck
in the near future. Country's abundant hydropower potential has not been utilized in pace
with increased demand. Sectoral least cost plans have been made since 1987 but proposed
projects have not been implemented as expected for a variety of reasons.
At the request of HMG of Nepal, Finland
financed a multi fuel diesel power plant of 26 MW ion Biratnagar that was handed over to
NEA in June 1991. At the moment preparations is underway to grant a Finish concessional
credit together with a soft loan from Nordic Development Fund for the extension of
Biratnagar Multi fuel power plant with additional 13MW.
Tele Communication is an important means of
communication in Nepal. Finland participated in the development of the sector under World
Bank coordinated Telecommunication IV programs. Finland is also taking part in the Tele
Communication V program under the new program Finland-together with Nodic Development Fund
is supporting Radio link network, optical fibers network in Kathmandu Area and design of
computerized data base.
Rural water supply and sanitation project in
the Lumbini zone has been going since 1990. The project aims ar providing safe drinking
water for some 175000 people. The approach is based on community participation. Technical
assistance from Finland has been minimized and purchases done mostly locally. The second
phase of the project is due to start in January but is still in need of clearance from
HMG.
In 1992 Finland and Nepal launched a project
in new area of co-operation namely mapping sector. The Eastern Nepal Topographic Mapping
Project includes all production phases from aerial photography o final printed maps. It
has also been agreed in principal to start mapping the rest of the country under a
separate but coordinated mapping project of Western Nepal, which is due to start in
December.
In the field of family planning and health
Finland is supporting Nepal's population program under a project implemented in
co-operation with UNFPA and Ministry of Health.
Under a cultural project "Recording,
Preserving and Promoting Cultural Traditions of Nepal by Means of Television" NTV
staff are trained to p[produce cultural programs. At the end of the project cultural
traditions of seven Nepalese ethnic groups are recorded and the programs will be
distributed also internationally.
A Finnish training institution PRODEC
provided a special management and export marketing training program for Nepalese small and
medium-sized enterprises during 1993-94. A new training program in cooperation with FNCCI
has recently been launched.
Some Finnish NGOs are involved in development projects in
Nepal for which they receive assistance from the Finnish government. They work mainly in
social sector.
The author is, Esa Hurtig, the former Charge de Affaires
of the Finland Embassy in Kathmandu. The article was printed in this newspaper Vol.12 N
42, 6 December 1995—Chief editor
SAARC initiatives on Regional
cooperation--1
Q.A.M.A Rahim, Secretary- General of
SAARC
In May 1991, the council of Ministers at its
Ninth Session in Male' established a high-level Committee on Economic Co-operation (CEC)
comprising Commerce/Trade Secretaries of the SAARC Member States. CEC was mandated to
formulate a and oversee implementation of specific measures, policies and programs within
the SAARC framework to strengthen and enhance intra-regional cooperation in the field of
trade and economic relations. So far, CEC has held eleven meetings.[ it Eleventh Meeting
was held in Kathmandu on 26-27 October 2002 coinciding with the Fourth SAARC Trade fair.
The first concrete step towards economic
cooperation was taken when an Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)
was signed by the SAARC Foreign Ministers i8n Dhaka in April 1993. It entered into effect
on 7 December 1995 after the conclusion of the First Round of trade negotiations under
SAPTA. Since then, four rounds of trade negotiations under SAPTA have been concluded, the
last one earlier this month in Kathmandu.
The Eleventh SAARC Summit in Kathmandu
provide further impetus to regional economic cooperation. To give effect to the shared
aspirations for a more prosperous South Asia, Leaders agreed to the vision of a phased and
planned process eventually leading to a South Asian Economic Union and to realize the goal
of an integrated South Asian economy in a step-by-step manner, agreed to accelerate
cooperation in the core areas of trade, finance and investment.
Recognizing the need yo move quickly towards
a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), the Eleventh Summit directed that the text of its
Draft Treaty framework be finalized by the end of 2002. The Leaders also directed that in
moving towards the goal of SAFTA, the Member States expedite action to remove tariff and
non-tariff barriers, and all structural impediments to free trade. The Tenth SAARC Summit
ion Colombo had already decided on the setting up of a Committee of Experts (COE), which
would draft a comprehensive treaty regime for creating a free trade area within the
region. Two meetings of this Committee have been held so far and the Third Meeting is
scheduled to be held at the SAARC Secretariat later this week.
While such trade may be agreed to in
negotiations, it can be restricted through non-tariff measures and other barriers.
Identification and dismantling of such barriers are thus critical elements of trade
facilitation. The negative assessments of intra-regional trade (5%) need to take into
consideration supply constraints and the limited trade basket. Both these elements are
crucial if intra-regional trade is to be addresses effectively. In addition, there is also
need for caution because increasing intra-regional trade is to be addresses effectively.
In addition there is also need for caution because increasing intra-regional trade cannot
per se be our objective. What we want is trade creation and not trade diversion. Top
expand the trade basket, increase investment will be essential. A draft Regional Agreement
on Promotion and Protection of Investment within the SAARC region is therefore, under
consideration. It is meant to create conditions favorable for promoting and protecting
investments in Member States by investors from other Member States of the Region. Linked
to the Regional Investment Agreement on Avoiding of Double Taxation is also being looked
into.
This leads us to trade facilitation measures
a means of boosting intra-SAARC trade. Trade facilitation is a procedure by which the
'invisible' trade barriers are dismantled. A series of areas need to be covered in this
regard. Some of these would be first, the streamlining and simplification of documentation
and procedural requirements. Studies have indicated the cumbersome procedures increase
transaction time and cost, thereby making business well near unprofitable. A standing
group is working on simplification of customs procedures and documentation.
Second, the issue of quick movements of goods
is equally important as a trade facilitation measure. In the case of perishable
commodities delays in movement and the lack of proper facilities (such as refrigeration)
can cause considerable loss. Transportation is thus, a major element that need to be
addresses in this regard. Thus requires a proper system of networking in rail and road
links in particular. For the external market, the shipping sector needs to be addressed
with a sharp reduction in turn-around time. Ports also require systems in placer not only
for the quick loading and unloading of cargo but also for mandatory custom checks and
formulations and for transportation to the end destination within he region through
rail/road. Issues such as containerized movements of goods therefore, need to be urgently
addressed. The SAARC Technical Committee on Transport and Communication is addressing this
issue.
Third, recognizing the importance of
standards and measurements, a SAARC Standing Group on Standards, Quality Control and
Measurement has been set up to identify how national standards may be harmonized and
regional standards agreed upon. The key Elements of the Regional Action Plan on Standards
Quality Control and Measurement have been agreed and further work is progressing.
Fourth, a proposal to setup a SAARC
Arbitration Council is under examination by Member States.
SAARC has taken a number of initiatives to
present common positions at WTO meetings. A series of consultations were held prior to the
Second, Third and Fourth WTO Ministerial Conferences at Geneva (1998), Seattle (1999) and
Doha (2001) respectively, which resulted in the enunciation of SAARC positions through
Joint Statements issued by the SAARC Commerce Ministers. The leaders at the eleventh SAARC
Summit stressed the need to urgently assess the implications of the Doha Ministerial
Conference (September 2003). For this purpose, a structured mechanism of consultations
initially at the level of Commerce Secretaries, to be possibly followed by consultations
at the ministerial level, is being worked out. Such consultations will also address issues
related to WIPO, WCO and other multilateral negotiations with the objective of ensuring
that the regional interests are fully projected and protected. As a part of this
mechanism, a Special Session of Commerce Secretaries is scheduled to be held in Dhaka in
January 2003.
(To be continued). |
