Remarks by
the Prime Minister Right Honourable Mr. K.P.
Sharma Oli
at the Luncheon Hosted for Diplomatic Community, Baluwatar, Kathmandu
27 March
2018
Honourable Ministers
Honourable Former Prime Ministers,
Excellencies, Ambassadors and Heads
of diplomatic Missions
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to welcome you all to this Luncheon at my official residence
today. Thank you for accepting our invitation. I have met most of you
individually. But we are meeting in this format for the first time since I
assumed the office of the Prime Minister recently.
Please allow me to briefly share with you my views on three topics.
First, I will speak about Nepal’s recent political developments. Then, I will
highlight the major priorities of the present government. And, finally, I will
touch upon our foreign policy priorities.
As
you all know, Nepal has undergone transformation
of historic proportions in the past one decade. The impact of
transformation has not only confined to political sphere but also has been felt
across all spheres of national life. The transformation has been monumental in
our political and constitutional history.
The
most important phase of political
transformation of Nepal began in September 2015 when we promulgated a
highly progressive and democratic constitution through a popularly elected
Constituent Assembly. You all are witness to this. I don’t think we need
further elaboration. I must say that this was a culmination of our successful
long and ardous struggles and Nepal’s ‘unique and home-grown’ peace process.
The constitution has institutionalized federal democratic republican system of
governance, embodying the political gains achieved over the years through successive
people’s struggles and revolutions.
The next important milestone was achieved when
we successfully concluded federal, provincial and local level elections in
2017. All of you have personally witnessed this. The elections, which were held
in a free, fair and impartial manner, saw high turnout of the voters. We have
accomplished this historic responsibility to implement the constitution. I am
happy to share with you that we have been able to ensure over 41 per cent of
women representation in elected bodies. This is not a small achievement by any
standard. We will make further efforts to bridge the gap of remaining 9 per
cent.
With all
elections completed, the federal system of governance has been fully
functional. Governments have been formed at all three levels of the federal
structure. Finally, we have entered into an era of political stability. We have
paid heavy price to reach this stage.
Thank you for your moral support in our struggle for democracy.
We believe
that our friends and well-wishers who want to see a peaceful, stable and
prosperous Nepal also cherish this historic achievement of the people of Nepal.
At the federal level, we are now poised to have a stable government with
more than 3/4th majority support of the House. All provincial governments enjoy
above 2/3rd majority support of the assemblies. We are now supporting the
governments at provincial levels in creating necessary condition for them to
function smoothly. Likewise we are supporting 753 governments at local level.
Enhancing their capacity and making them more effective and resourceful is a need
of the hour.
These
political achievements must be augmented with socio-economic progress. There
is indeed a need and a historic opportunity for us to move forward the agenda
of peace, good governance, development and prosperity.
We have
realized that our efforts must therefore be on turning a page towards peace,
stability and development with social justice. We know the cost of inaction
will be colossal. Every second of our time is precious and wastage of it
is no longer an option. We cannot take resort to any excuse should we fail to
deliver. Hence, there is no option for us but to succeed.
The
Government, under my leadership, is formed against this backdrop. So, it is
very much incumbent upon the present government to take on the generational
challenge of socio-economic progress. And, we are fully committed to
transforming this legitimate aspiration of our people into reality.
Please
let me now touch upon some of the major
policies and priorities of this government:
The
present government has the motto of ‘Prosperous Nepal and happy Nepali.’ Its
policies and programmes will be founded on six fundamental pillars.
The first one is nationalism. I
understand nationalism as the protection of our sovereignty, territorial
integrity, national independence, and fulfillment of our national interest. We,
the Nepalis, are a proud people with our long and glorious history of
independence and sovereignty. We are committed to safeguarding that space for
the benefit of our national interest and for the good of our posterity. Persuit
of National interset and fulfillment of international obligations must go hand
in hand. This comes as a non-negotiable priority for us. We will serve this
cause on the basis of our values, realities, and aspirations.
Second, our commitment to
democracy and fundamental freedoms is total and unflinching. The long journey
of our political struggle is synonymous to the struggle for democracy. Our
constitution has incorporated all the universally accepted norms and values
which are eloquently manifested in the bill of rights enshrined in it. We believe that democracy is irreversible and
no one can snatch it now from us.
No
one would dare to dismantle the solid foundation of democracy we have so
thoughtfully built. We hold this very dear and will not allow any compromise on
democratic norms, values and principles.
Third, we cannot imagine
sustainable peace and prosperity without social justice based on equality. We
stand firm on achieving social justice that ensures equitable opportunities and
equal protection to all sections of our society. Ours is a society full of diversity. Unity in
diversity has been a Nepali characteristic and a primary source of our
strength. Our constitution prohibits
discrimination on any ground and the State is obliged to safeguard this
fundamental right. Inclusive polity, which has been the true spirit of our
constitution, has been influenced by our culture and tradition. And, we want to implement it in earnest.
Fourth and one of the most
important ones will be stability, progress and development. We will continue to
strive for progressive changes in our political, economic and socio-cultural
set up. We have learnt hard lessons from our own experiences what the price of
instability would be. Any attempt to undermine peace and stability will not be
tolerated at any cost and will be dealt with firmly and resolutely. There is no
space for violence in our society.
Sovereigns
lies in people and our constitution hasguaranteed it. Sovereign people of Nepal
are free to take decision on matter affecting their life. Peaceful pursuit of
political objectives must therefore remain at the core of our political
discourse. However, we must remain cautious and vigilant to preserve our
political gains. There might be some attempts from different quarters to
disrupt our social harmony and cohesion under various pretexts. There might be
some elements who believe in perpetuity of conflict and discord in our society.
We do not want to see our people exploited under any ulterior agenda. We will
stand united and pull our resources together to defeat the forces of divisions
and instability and work for the betterment of our people who deserve a decent
life. Only the people of Nepal have the
sovereign right to decide on constitutional, political and all other issues affecting
them.
Fifth, our commitment to good
governance is strong and we want to make it a reality in our life. It will
continue to guide the policies, programmes and activities of the government.
Rule of law will be at the centre of governance and will be pursued in an
effective manner. We will also pursue a policy of zero-tolerance against
corruption. Our aim is to ensure corruption-free governance. We will adopt
efficient and smart mode of service delivery so that people can feel the
change. Transparency and accountability
will be effectively enforced. Beyond national efforts, I just want to emphasize
that good governance must be pursued at all levels, from national to
international. We all have to move from
rhetoric to reality.
Sixth, with an end of the
protracted political transition, the exclusive focus of the government now will
be to fulfil people’s aspirations for broad based, inclusive and sustainable
development. We have a strong resolve to attain rapid economic growth to
underpin political transformation.
We
want to overcome the vicious circle of
poverty, underdevelopment and social backwardness. Our resource-rich
country can no longer afford to be poor. We must firmly and decisively attack
on poverty, hunger and backwardness.
Centred on
these pillars, we will build greater convergence on national development agenda
among the government, political parties, private sector, and civil
society.
Our
development challenges are manifold and daunting. We still are in the bottom
rung of the development ladder. Overcoming these challenges would not be
possible with the limited capacity and resources at the disposal of the
government. We therefore invite the private sector, both domestic and foreign,
to invest and contribute to production and employment generation.
We are fully committed to strengthening business and investment environment. In order to improve and facilitate trade and
investment, we have reduced tariffs, simplified tax regimes and focused on the
development and operation of trade related infrastructure.
We
are committed to graduating from the LDC
category at the earliest. We need to achieve a double-digit growth to make
it happen. Promotion of trade and investment is, therefore, a natural priority
of the government.
All
political parties are united to ensure investment-friendly environment in the
country. Hydropower, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure development and IT
are some of the areas in which we need massive investment. These areas have the
potential to transform our developmental landscape.
Advanced,
modern and efficient technology is the key to promote knowledge-based economy
that is the base of sustainable development. Prosperity through the overall
development as well as the utmost use of science and technology in all sectors
is our mission.
Nepal
has huge demographic dividends. Job
creation is our top priority. We want to retain our youths and engage them in
economic activities.
Post- earthquakes
reconstruction of the damaged structures, buildings and cultural as well as historical
sites will receive our priority.
Now
I will highlight briefly the present government’s foreign policy priorities.
We
live in a world that is full of contradictions and uncertainties. Forces of
both stability and disruption are active. Adjustment to a rapidly changing
world is a major challenge for everyone and more so for a country like ours.
Stability in the global order is essential for peace, development and democracy
around the world.
Nepal’s
constitution has defined national interests and provided a framework to conduct
our international relations.
Promoting
the image of Nepal at the international level, as a State that is practicing
comprehensive democracy as well as advancing the cause of Nepal’s
socio-economic development will remain our two intrinsic diplomatic goals.
With this direction
firmly set on future, we will continue to be guided by some fundamental
premises.
First and foremost, the promotion of
Nepal’s national interest while maintaining sovereignty, territorial integrity,
and independence of the country. As the people of a country that was never
under the control of any external power, we hold, more than anything else, the
principles of sovereignty, independence and non-interference close to our
heart. Independent foreign policy and
balanced conduct of relations will be the hallmarks of our external
engagements.
Second, our overall engagements
will be directed, as always, by the principles of Panchasheel,
non-alignment, UN Charter, international law, and norms of world peace. Our
efforts will be towards promoting a just and equitable international order in
which all States- small and big- fulfil their international obligations in good
faith, and all countries enjoy equitable opportunities to fulfil aspirations
for development and prosperity.
Third, our motto will be ‘amity with all, and enmity with none’. We want to be a good friend of everyone and
we want to treat everyone as a good friend. We believe that this helps foster
trust and understanding. We will pursue international relations based on
justice, sovereign equality, mutual respect and benefit.
Fourth, development imperatives at home will be the guideposts for our
diplomatic engagements abroad. Focused pursuit of economic development agenda
at the international level will remain a key priority. We believe that
development and prosperity are universal goals and all nations have legitimate
interest in achieving them. We must therefore recognize the development space
for everyone. Development must not be seen through the optics of geopolitics.
Fifth, our culture, civilization and identity are our assets. Building Nepal’s
image as the land of diverse and bountiful resources will be our goal.
Our diplomatic machinery
will be mobilized in line with these premises. Let me now talk about some of
the key areas of our priorities.
On neighbourhood: we enjoy cordial and friendly relation with both our
immediate neighbours, India and China. Mutual trust will be the key ingredient
of our relationship. We are thankful for all the goodwill and support of our
neighbours towards our national aspirations. We look forward to further
strengthening these relations at all levels of our cooperation. Serving our
national interest and fulfilling our legitimate aspiration of economic
development and prosperity will guide our engagements. In particular, we will remain engaged in the
‘vibrant economic drive’ of the neighbourhood with a view to benefitting from
it. We respect the legitimate interests of our neighbours and will not allow
anything against them in our soil.
We also wish to enhance
our relations with all other friendly countries in our extended neighbourhood. Our engagements will be based on mutual
respect and cooperation. We want to explore, open up and diversify our
relations especially in the areas of trade, investment, tourism and
people-to-people exchanges.
We would be working
towards enriching the substance of cooperation in our bilateral engagements
with major powers and development
partners. We fully acknowledge the support and cooperation received from
our development partners. Given the level of our development, we still need an
enhanced level of development cooperation from our partners mainly for economic
development. We urge the development partners to align assistance with our
priorities, respecting our leadership and ownership in the process and
channelizing such support through government mechanisms. We must create a
success story of development cooperation. Fragmentation of precious resources
and use of multiple channels will not yield desired results.
We will closely work with labour-receiving
countries for safety, security and wellbeing of our migrant workers. We
would like to expand the scope of cooperation with these countries beyond
labour issues to encompass trade, investment and tourism.
Our multilateral engagements including at the UN will be made
more effective. We know that we all, as a global community, share global
challenges. These challenges can only be
addressed by an inclusive and rule-based
international system. We support the UN reform initiatives to provide equal
emphasis on all three pillars- peace and security, development and human
rights, and to make the world body more efficient, effective and responsive of
the need of our time. On our part, Nepal will continue contributing to
the maintenance of international peace and security through its effective
participation in UN mandated peacekeeping operations.
We favourpeaceful solution of
international disputes. We support the national leadership and ownership of
any solution to crisis situations and apolitical role of the agencies like the
United Nations. Nepal will continue to lend support in favour of total and complete disarmament,
especially of all weapons of mass destruction.
Nepal will also lend support to global efforts to fight against terrorism. Nepal condemns terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations and believes that terrorist acts cannot be justified on any
ground.
Nepal will remain constructively engaged to advance the cause of global
peace, security and development. Solidarity and cooperation with LDCs and
LLDCs will continue to characterize our deliberations.
We call for effective implementation of all relevant international
instruments to address the specific development needs of these countries in
special situation.
We have owned and integrated the
SDGs into our national policies and programmes. And, we aspire to achieve
them well before the deadline. We urge the international community to
faithfully and effectively implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Special vulnerabilities of countries like ours must be taken into consideration
while taking decision on climate change related funds and support measures.
Nepal has been elected as a member of the Human Rights Council for the term of 2018-20. We remain grateful to
all those UN member States that supported our candidature. As a member, we will
provide a strong voice to all those around the globe who look up to the Council
to make a positive difference in their lives. Nepal will always stand for
apolitical and objective examination of human rights issues. We consider that
by attaining economic development and providing means of implementation of
human rights obligations create enabling environment for the enjoyment of human
rights by all.
To fully address the issue of transitional justice, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and
the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons are currently
engaged in the country. I reiterate that there should be no blanket amnesty to serious
violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.
We
are serious to ensure that the process is fair and free from pressure and
influences -both from within and outside the country.
Promoting regional economic cooperation remains a priority in our
foreign policy. We will continue to closely working together with fellow Member
States of SAARC and BIMSTEC to
accelerate these regional processes for achieving regional peace, progress and prosperity.
We will play an active role in Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The mainstay
of today’s diplomacy is the pursuit of
economic agenda. Therefore, we will strive to promote our vital economic
interests at the international level. This will be done through activities
aimed at attracting more foreign investment in our national priority sectors,
expanding our export trade and promoting tourism, among others.
We will be more than happy to receive
high level dignitaries from our neighbours and all other friendly
countries. I am hopeful that our friends will give a serious thought to it. We
would like to share our experiences and achievements of our unique peace
process as well as political transformation with our friends through exchange
of high-level visits.
To
conclude, we are aware that the goal of stability and progress cannot be
achieved with the efforts of the Government alone. At home, it is a collective
responsibility of the government, private sector, civil society and all other
stakeholders. Enhanced support and cooperation of the international development
partners will also be equally important. I request all of you and- through you-
the governments and institutions you represent to contribute to our mission.
I thank you all for your
attention.