-National Unity and Prosperity-

Hemanta Kharel

President, Nepal Council of World Affairs (NCWA)

National plans and policies and its judicious execution, largely supported by majority of population, provides the basis for national unity that alone can lead a nation to progress and prosperity. For a nation transiting from a unitary state to federal system where it demands proper management of people’s needs in every state as well as among the states and the center, this agenda assumes more importance.

National Unity:

Oxford English Dictionary defines unity as “the state of different areas or groups being joined together to form a single vision”. It is a word for togetherness or oneness. Unity implies the oneness, as in spirit, of aims, interests, feelings and the like which is made up of diverse elements and individuals for a common purpose, so as to acquire greatest possible strength to influence action.

When we link-up unity at the national level then we will be talking about national unity.

Therefore, national unity creates relationship of cohesiveness among the citizens of one nation. As per new Italian politician (Mazzine) “National unity makes all governed aware of their belongings to the land where they live and their union and association with it”. Nationalism is directly connected to the systems embraced by a particular nation in its political, social and economic spheres. The political ideology holds that a nation should govern itself, free from unwanted interference, and it should be linked to the concept of self-determination.

Nationalism is a sentiment that binds the people together with common identity like national symbols and flag, national anthems, national language, system of governance and so on. These discussions indicate that national unity is a state of people being united for the welfare of a nation. National unity is the most important thing that protects and preserves the existence of nations even in sorrowful situations.

Power and influence of every nation depends on the national unity, entirely of its people. Though national unity can strengthen the beliefs and confidence of the people and also contribute to happiness of present and future generations, it is neither a subject of political propaganda nor a joke making fun of the people. It is the soul and heart of the country. The present strength of national unity in Nepal seems to be limited in speeches and theoretical papers rather than transferring it to realities.

National Unity… Prosperity:

Every society needs a goal and a pointer to define its path of development. Such a goal has to be set on the basis of history, values, culture and sense of national identity, corresponding to the needs and existing realities of society and uniting the major layers of society around itself so as to lead the people towards development and prosperity. Therefore, prosperity is a state of flourishing, thriving, good future or successful social status of the people.

Prosperity often encompasses wealth; it includes also other factors which can be independent of wealth to varying degrees such as happiness and healthier lives. By 2050 A.D., Nepal’s northern neighbour, China, is projected to be the topmost economic power of the world, and India in the South is expected to become the 3rd most economic power. Nepal lying between them, has an immense opportunity.

In this context, Nepal should be prepared with a clear roadmap and commitment to ensure that all Nepalese people can enjoy prosperous living. Nepal needs an effective policy to improve the efficiency of its resources as well as judicious resource allocation to achieve economic social and technological progress in harmony with nature. Labour migration for remittance is to be reduced and the available working force needs to be employed for hydro-electricity generation and engaged in industrial hubs, emphasizing on agro industry and other manufacturing sectors.

Nepal should build itself as a ‘spiritual resources center’ for billions of Hindus and half a billion of Buddhists by incorporating the policy of empathy uniting humanity. This exercise would not only help sustain peace in the Asian region but also could add to the promotion of tourism sector. Diplomatic missions should be mobilized to attract FDI and promote economic activities under economic diplomacy. Additional help should be taken from the business sector by involving FNCCI, CNI and other trade as well as tourism related organizations.

We should forward and move concrete steps in expanding Indian railway line from different states of India to Nepal. China railway line can link Nepal through Lhasa. Development of SAARC highway, SAARC railway, SAARC river way and opening up of civil aviation link by making open sky policy will help overcome challenges of landlocked status to land linked, water linked and sky linked. There should be common understanding among SAARC members for using available natural resources such as water, gas by constructing a common regional power grid line and gas pipe lines for the rapid development of this region.

External investors feel insecure for investing in Nepal due to weak rule of law, militant trade unions, power shortages, insufficient infrastructure, frequent strikes, red tape and frequent changes in government policy. While the discouraging factors need to be weeded out, it further needs good governance, corruption control and positive attitude of the community for attracting foreign direct investment. Some of the potential areas which can contribute to the prosperity of nation are as follows:

Hydropower Development:

It is often quoted that technically feasible hydropower capacity is about 45000 MW in Nepal. To materialize this potentiality, a realistic and mutually beneficial understanding has to take place with India, among others since India can become Nepal’s important trading partner and largest market for electricity produced in Nepal. At the same time there is a need to encourage China and Bangladesh to join hands with Nepal for the development of hydro power. With these efforts our dream of prosperity through hydropower development is indeed achievable.

We should also need to create friendly and trust worthy investment environment by engaging efficient technocrats and informed strategists. y Tourism Promotion This sector has huge potential for creating employment opportunity and contributing to overall development. New branding ideas, community based tourism, expansion of facilities, preservation of heritage and culture are some of the important aspects to attract domestic and foreign tourists. Establishment of ‘spiritual resources center’ based on Hinduism and Buddhism may help increase religious tourists from all over the world.

Creation of Environment for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):

Pace of FDI in Nepal has remained slow and near stagnant. The primary reasons for this have been continuing unstable government policy, bad governance, high cost of business startup, lack of basic infrastructure and weak enforcement of rule of law. In addition, the insufficient power supply, transport difficulties including bad condition of highways, and small market are least conducive to investment. To overcome these challenges nation needs to adopt stable policies to help support potential investors to do business with ease in Nepal. Unruly trade unions and their political masters need to realize that without growth and prosperity Nepal will ever remain poor and the impact will be felt severely by the labourers and the working classes.

Time Bound and Effective use of Foreign Aid: 

Ever since Nepal started receiving foreign aid, international communities have been increasingly involved in its development process. The assistance received has been on the rise and now it has reached a level of 40 to 50 percent of development budget. Such a high degree of aid dependency has inevitably has some serious political implication. The political picture has gone through several changes from Panchayat to Republic; nevertheless foreign aid continues to constitute a very large share of development budget.

Moreover, the absorptive capacity of such development budget is less than 50 percent. In this regard we need to boost up absorptive capacity as well as make efficient use of foreign aid. We should also be capable of designing of our own priorities and make plan and policies accordingly. To transform this nation from present status of poverty to prosperity, all stakeholders need to reform themselves with full commitment from political parties’ leadership down to community level. y Modernized Agriculture Sector Nepal is endowed with plenty of natural resources and is blessed with climatic variations in a small strip (from north to south) that enables its people to grow vegetables and fruits found in tropical, sub-tropical and plains.

It is primarily an agricultural country with approximately 3 million ha.

of cultivated land. There is enough forest areas which besides meeting fuel, fodder and timber to human population, providing shelter to birds and wild animal. Low yields of food crops, skewed distribution land, poverty, and absence of agriculture research extension, education to farmers, coordination and marketing are key problems of this sector. It is well known fact that agriculture is the engine of growth and development. It needs to modernize and commercialize the agriculture sector to double production within a short span of time. Equitable distribution of land, its proper management and improvement in the above mentioned challenges are the needs of the day.

Our farming is mixed type of farming where a combination of crop, livestock and horticulture interplay with agro-forestry, bio diversity, market development and trade as well as commerce. Agricultural research extension and education needs to be integrated.

All these supports to farmers will be sufficiently empowered and will have significant contribution on the economy and polity. Then farming will be socially prestigious occupation. A broad base development will occur as an influence of agriculture development.

Foreign Policy:

The five principles of peaceful existence guides Nepal in the conduct of its foreign relations with its neighbours and friendly countries all over the world. Other guiding parameters are: ideas enshrined in the UN charter, the principles of non-alignment, world peace, international Law, regional arrangement and human rights. Supreme goals of Nepal foreign policy are to preserve, safeguard and nourish the core national interests, namely Nepal’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as social and economic prosperity of the Nepali people.

Pluralism, open market policy, full regard to the fundamental principles of human rights forms the basis of state to state relations. Foreign policy is also regarded as a reflection and complimentary to domestic policy. Domestic policy, determined by internal situation, necessities and long-term interest of the peoples, is linked closely with foreign policy. All the mainstream political parties need to show unity and uniformity on the issues of foreign policy, with a view to achieving prosperity in Nepal.

It is the prime duty of all Nepalis to promote Nepal’s national interest in the international arena for the larger benefit of its people. We need to explore all the avenues of comparative advantage for engaging in fruitful diplomacy as challenges and opportunities have increased, especially after the emergence of liberalization and globalization. To improve our deteriorating image in international arena, we have to work internally through sound and good governance, transparency, and accountability.

Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad should be led by professionals and experts rather than political parties’ quota. Effective conduct of foreign policy is possible only through the exercise of diplomats that are capable, creative and credible. Since Nepal has already adopted a federal system of governance, the country needs to redefine its foreign policy according to changing scenario. We need to consider geneses of history, geography, culture, economy, demography, language, religions and security. The unique geo-strategic location guided us to conduct Nepal’s foreign policy at the bilateral level, maintaining and transforming historic friendly relations with its immediate neighbours India and China, to a new level of trust and confidence in the context of security resolution, social, economic and cultural cooperation.

The most important thing is to fully consider the strength and size of economy and military power of immediate neighbours while defining relations with immediate neighbours. Nepal’s military strength being negligible compared to India and China, military option can be considered as a non-option. Nepal needs to maintain and develop relations based on pleasantness, fairness and largely cooperative. Mutual respect and regard between Nepal and its neighbours in an environment of win-win situation can promote relations further thereby supporting regional peace and prosperity. Ironically, our leaders appear to view foreign policy only in relation to his or her own rise to or fall from power.

As we do not have institutionalized national foreign policy it places us in a vulnerable situation. Further, it allows foreign diplomats to easily break the established protocol and norms while dealing with our highest officials–government officials including prime minister), parties’ leaders and senior bureaucrats of concerned ministries and departments.

In view of Nepal’s highly sensitive and delicate geographic location, all political parties, including major stakeholders, must agree to make consensual approach in the conduct of foreign policy.

In conclusion we can strongly argue that National unity is the basis for the stability of people since it guarantees the progress and development of society. Unity, consolidation, solidarity, integration and mutual trust as well as understanding will help lay out solid ground for the prosperity of Nepal. At the same time we should conduct institutionalized foreign policy with participation and involvement of main stream political parties, including major stakeholders so as to achieve the highest standard of living for our inhabitants of Nepal.

# Text courtesy: Nepal Council of World Affairs Annual Journal, 2018:
# Thanks the NCWA and the distinguished author: Ed. Upadhyaya.
References:
Report on Nepal’s Foreign Affairs, MoFA, Kathmandu, 2016. Wikipedia.
The oxford English dictionary, fourth edition 1999.
Hemanta Kharel 6 NCWA, Annual Journal, 2018 International cooperation in commercialization and industrialization of Nepalese Agriculture Foreign Policy to Practice, IFA, 2013.
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The Paradox of Prosperity (Foreign Policy), Michel Clemens, Centre for Global Development, 2017. Nationalism Rules, Stephen, Walt, 2011, Google.Com