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 Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been suggested by the experts about the areas of priorities to be finalized in the upcoming fourth summit of the BIMSTEC. 

Meeting the PM at the latter's official residence in Baluwatar this evening, experts of diplomacy, foreign affairs and economic sectors from Nepal, India and Bangladesh submitted their suggestions on the areas of cooperation for BIMSTEC. 

The recommendations passed from the pre-consultative meeting organized on August 2-3 on the possible agendas of the fourth BIMSTEC summit by Institute for Strategic and Socio Economic Research, ISSR Nepal, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, India and Center for Policy Dialogue Bangladesh were submitted to the PM. 

Acting Chairperson of ISSR Nepal Dr Govinda Nepal said the meeting had furnished suggestions about the areas of cooperation to be discussed in the upcoming BIMSTEC summit for its success. Currently, there are 14 areas of cooperation among the seven member countries of BIMSTEC while the upcoming summit is likely to reduce it to seven. 

According to Dr Nepal, they had given suggestions to Prime Minister Oli on prioritizing the issues of connectivity, trade, investment and tourism promotion, people to people connectivity, climate change and strengthening of BIMSTEC secretariat among others. Dr Nepal shared that PM Oli has assured them to table the suggested topics in the summit. The summit is taking place in Kathmandu on August 30 and 31. RSS

 TATA Motors has its presence both in the commercial as well as the passenger market seg­ments in Nepal. Which segment is your focus?

Sipradi has always been a very customer centric company. Our focus has always been to add value to every product and service we offer. As such, TATA, as a brand, has always rolled out the best in class products—be it passenger or commercial vehicles. Our focus as a distributor for Nepal is to add value to these world class products, equip them with customized customer ser­vice experience and then, only then, offer it to the market.

How do you place your latest utility entries like Nexon and Hexa in the Nepali market?

Nexon is the first Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV) from TATA Motors. Before its launch, Nexon was a talk of the town with heavy enquiries regarding its launch and spec­ulations about its price. We had pre-booking of 150 units of Nexon before its launch. With its launch, our market coverage of passenger cars has increased from 48 percent to 68 percent. Nexon is primarily targeted at upper middle class urban youths who are upgraders or first time buyers. It competes against Ford Ecosport, Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Nissan Terrano.

Hexa is targeted at top executives of corporate houses and entrepreneurs and com­petes against Mahindra XUV 500 and Toyota Rush. Hexa enthralled everyone when it was first show­cased at the 2017 Nada Auto Show. Hexa again came in limelight with 11 deliveries on the first day of its retail selling. Currently, Hexa stands strong in the SUV segment with encouraging reviews, outstand­ing performance and increasing demand alongside its near cousin Safari Storme.

In your view, will the recent increase in vehicle taxes and custom duties affect your sales?

All automobile companies have a range of products. In relation to the recent increase in taxes and customs, some products are affected more, some are affected less while some are not affected at all. The same is the case with us. Ultimately, there is a trade-off and the overall market is neutral­ized. Numbers in certain segments may increase while the numbers in other segments may decrease, thus having minimal impact on overall sales.

Tata is seen to be losing to its nearest competitors in terms of resale value of pre-owned cars. How do you address this situation?

Sipradi Assured (Sister Company of Sipradi Trading) caters to the cus­tomers from the pre-owned market. TATA Motors has a very competitive resale value. In certain segments, customers enjoy the best resale value on their TATA vehicles. To fur­ther guarantee good resale value, all the pre-bookings of Nexon were also guaranteed 75 percent resale value.

What are your current or upcoming models in the passen­ger segment that you think will make you market leaders?

Nexon has become the game changer for us due to its styling and hosts of features. TATA is now taken into consideration by all auto enthusiasts, customers and pros­pects alike. The market triggered by Nexon will soon see TATA Har­rier (SUV competing against Jeep Compass and Creta) and TATA X451 (premium hatchback competing against Suzuki Baleno, VW Polo and Hyundai i20). These two products are expected to lead their respective segments and make TATA among the market leaders

 Acer Travel Mate B117

Price: Rs 27,000

A bit pric­ier than the Lenovo, the Acer Trav­elMate B117 is just as robust and strong. Built with educational insti­tutions in mind, the laptop comes with a moderate Intel Celeron N3050 Dual Core 1.6 GHz processor with 4GB of RAM. The screen is also as big as the Lenovo’s, coming at 11-inch, which nonetheless performs slightly better than the Lenovo panel in terms of saturation and bright­ness. The device is also slightly thin­ner, adding to its portability. With the given internals, the laptop is capable of handling basic word pro­cessing, web browsing and light processing. Anything heavier than that will tax the device heavily but at this price point, you can’t expect it to do any more.

Dell Inspiron 3552

Price: Rs 35,600

If you are willing to pay a bit more, the Dell Inspiron 3552 is the perfect laptop for budget-friendly buyers. The device is a solid low-end performer that comes in a full-sized package. It has a decent 15.6 TN screen and is equipped with Intel Pentium N3700 1.6 GHz processor with 4GB of RAM. More power, however, adds to the bulk of the device and makes it harder to lug around. But good inter­nals and a bigger screen also mean content consumption is going to be better and the added screen real-es­tate is also going to do wonders for your workflow. But, again, the Dell is a low-budget laptop so don’t expect anything jaw-dropping in terms of performance. Regardless, the laptop should be capable of handling your everyday tasks was ease.

Lenovo X131e

Price: Rs 24,990

The Lenovo X131e is the perfect laptop for students and profession­als alike. The device is built like a tank, with a sturdy and rugged plas­tic design. The laptop has decent internals with an AMD E2-1800 APU processor supported by 4GB of RAM. It also has a moderate 320GB of hard drive space, which should be plenty for smaller documents like Word files, pictures and videos.

If you want a laptop for your children, the Lenovo X131e is perfect for you to keep track of your child’s computer usage: it comes with a light on the lid that is turned on when the computer is connected to the internet. A quick glance will make it clear if your ward is working on a project or wiling away time on social media. Since the laptop is cheap and built to last, investing in the Lenovo X131e might not be a bad idea.

 If you go to GG Machan in Pulcho­wk before August 30, you will be able to marvel the works of visual artist Sabita Dangol. The free exhi­bition “Interconnected Affection” is Dangol’s fourth solo effort. The vivid colors of her artworks exude positivity and love. You will quickly notice that in all her paintings, the central motif is comb. “The purpose of a comb is to untangle hair, so metaphorically speaking, it signifies resolving prob­lems. This is why I have been using comb as a symbol that solves prob­lem and brings harmony,” she says. Also, married couples are the other key feature of her paintings. Sooth­ing and peaceful, these paintings suggest pure conjugal bliss.

The price range of the artworks is between Rs 10,000-Rs 195,000. Rahul Shrestha, 28, an art enthusiast who was visiting the exhibit, reckons the paintings are relatively cheap considering the quality of work. He says that these artworks “would look especially good above the mas­ter bed in the bedroom of married couples.” Also, he observes that the paintings are vibrant, with unusual color combinations like blue and golden blending perfectly.

If you are an art lover, you can spend time analyzing the meta­phors, techniques and motifs Dangol uses in her paintings. You can see many symbols of her native Newari culture in her artwork, and reli­gious symbols too. “I am including Astamangala or the eight auspicious signs which are religious symbols of Buddhists and Hindus,” she says.

To see the exhibition, visit GG Machan anytime between 11 am-6 pm.

 Why does BIMSTEC exist at all? What is its focus?

The Bay of Bengal is one of the world’s least integrated regions, with abysmal levels of trade, connectivity, and cooperation. The deep divide between India and other countries around the bay hinders their efforts to increase their economic and strategic interdependence.

BIMSTEC offers a well-positioned platform to help address these chal­lenges. But BIMSTEC’s mission to deepen regionalism will stand a better chance of succeeding if its members make the organization a priority, endow it with adequate resources, and enact reforms to strength its capabilities. 

Why such emphasis on the Bay of Bengal?

As the largest bay in the world, the Bay of Bengal is of pivotal impor­tance to the countries bordering it. More broadly, demographic, eco­nomic, and security developments in the region have crucial implica­tions for Asia and the global order. While exact definitions vary, the bay’s scope is generally defined as a “triangular basin” stretching west to east between Sri Lanka, Bangla­desh, and Malaysia. One-fourth of the world’s populations live in the seven countries around it, and half a billion people live directly on its coastal rim.

The highly populated Bay of Bengal carries a lot of economic promise. With a combined gross domestic product (GDP) close to $2.7 trillion and despite an adverse global financial environment, all seven countries were able to sustain average annual rates of economic growth between 3.4 and 7.5 percent from 2012 to 2016. The bay is also rich in untapped nat­ural resources, with some of the world’s largest reserves of gas and other seabed minerals, as well as, it is increasingly believed, oil. The nutrient input from the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers ensures that the bay’s waters contain extraordinarily large fishing stocks.

Is BIMSTEC a platform to undercut SAARC?

BIMSTEC is complementary to SAARC and other regional initia­tives. But unlike SAARC, BIMSTEC has greater potential because it is not hostage to cyclical India-Paki­stan tensions. Its focus is also more towards the Southeast, focusing on inter-regional connectivity with Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

What brings the seven countries of BIMSTEC together?

In a more interdependent world, states around the Bay of Bengal are realizing that their national eco­nomic and security interests are increasingly tied to the ability to cooperate across borders through regional institutions. Responding to the inroads China has made in the region, India is placing an unprec­edented emphasis on strengthen­ing regional connectivity and links with Southeast Asia. Small BIMSTEC countries see regional multilater­alism as a potential check on the rising capabilities of China, India, and major external powers.

What is India’s role in BIMSTEC?

Under Prime Minster Modi, India has taken a proactive stance to revive BIMSTEC under its Act East policy. India’s leadership is important, but regional organiza­tions only succeed if all members move in the same direction. India’s strategic priority now is to connect with its neighboring countries in order to respond to China’s growing presence across South Asia and the Indian Ocean.

There is going to be a joint mil­itary exercise among BIMSTEC member states. Why involve militaries in this forum meant for technical and economic cooperation?

It does not make sense to separate economics and security. Whether it is the threat of terrorism, insur­gencies, or natural calamities, the military services need to be pre­pared to coordinate and cooperate in the Bay of Bengal region. The BIMSTEC states will not be able to achieve their developmental and connectivity plans without being able to secure their territories and populations. But BIMSTEC’s focus remains on economic cooperation and connectivity.

Nepal is not even on the Bay of Bengal. Why is it a BIMSTEC member then?

Nepal was historically well con­nected to the Bay of Bengal, via Kol­kata, Orissa and Bangladesh. This connection was interrupted because India closed its economy, and hence the repeated transit and trade crises between India and Nepal after the 1980s. Nepal then started to open its economy more than India and got interested in greater con­nectivity, trade and transit. Now with India also finally opening up, there is a chance for Nepal to revive its old Bay of Bengal connections, including via Bangladesh.

What does Nepal gain from such connections?

Under PM Oli, Nepal has achieved an unprecedented democratic sta­bility at home, and has indicated willingness to assume greater activ­ism and leadership in its foreign pol­icy. With Nepal’s greater power, stra­tegically situated between Asia’s two most important states, also comes greater responsibility.

Nepal has been diversifying its foreign policy, with closer rela­tions with Bhutan, Myanmar and Southeast Asian countries. BIMS­TEC offers an important platform for Nepal to develop its own Act East policy.

But BIMSTEC is by and large an Indian initiative, isn’t it?

It’s tempting for Nepal to just observe and criticize from the side­lines, and wrongly assume that BIM­STEC is an Indian initiative.

Instead, Nepal should see BIMSTEC as a historic opportunity to revive its historic links to North­east India, Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal region. This will allow Nepal to again play its historic role as a bridging power, connecting the Tibetan plateau and the Hima­layas with the subcontinent and the Indian Ocean region. Multilat­eral institutions like BIMSTEC are particularly beneficial for small­er countries like Nepal, increasing their bargaining power over larger countries like India.

Bilateralism is often tempt­ing, especially with China, but multilateralism and regional coop­eration are more beneficial in the long term.

Shouldn’t Nepal instead be bat­ting for SAARC?

SAARC will remain important, but it will only be reactivated once India and Pakistan attempt a new normalization. Nepal will have to be realistic and play on multiple geostrategic chessboards, including BIMSTEC, which offers an excellent platform to escape its landlocked position and connect to Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. Nepal will benefit from greater integration, connectivity and cooperation across the Bay of Bengal region.

What can Nepal realistically expect from the upcoming summit?

It will be a symbolic moment for Nepal, after hosting the SAARC summit in 2014. BIMSTEC goes beyond South Asia, and focuses on the Bay of Bengal and links with Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand, and is therefore an opportunity for Nepal to assume greater global visibility.

 WASHINGTON: Sen. John McCain, who faced down his captors in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp with jut-jawed defiance and later turned his rebellious streak into a 35-year political career that took him to Congress and the Republican presidential nomination, died Saturday after battling brain cancer for more than a year. He was 81.

McCain, with his irascible grin and fighter-pilot moxie, was a fearless and outspoken voice on policy and politics to the end, unswerving in his defense of democratic values and unflinching in his criticism of his fellow Republican, President Donald Trump. He was elected to the Senate from Arizona six times but twice thwarted in seeking the presidency.

An upstart presidential bid in 2000 didn’t last long. Eight years later, he fought back from the brink of defeat to win the GOP nomination, only to be overpowered by Democrat Barack Obama. McCain chose a little-known Alaska governor as his running mate in that race, and turned Sarah Palin into a national political figure.

After losing to Obama in an electoral landslide, McCain returned to the Senate determined not to be defined by a failed presidential campaign in which his reputation as a maverick had faded. In the politics of the moment and in national political debate over the decades, McCain energetically advanced his ideas and punched back hard at critics — Trump not least among them. AP

Nawalparasi, Aug 26 :Efforts made by the Indian side to expand road in the disputed territory of Susta has led to a dispute. 
The dispute has resurfaced by the Nepali side stopped the Indian side from expanding the road in the area. It may be noted that the two sides had agreed in 2064 B.S. to not carry out any work, including building roads or vegetation in the disputed land in Susta. 

However, the Indian side has violated the agreement by trying to expand road in the area, said Vice-chair of the Save Susta Campaign Adam Khan. 

The act of the Indian side to expand road in the disputed territory has become a problem of the residents of Susta, said Chair of Susta Rural Municipality Ram Prasad Pandey. 

Meanwhile, Chief District Officer Devendra Lamichhane has said that initiative has been taken to resolve the problem through facilitation by the security agencies of the two countries at the local level. RSS

 The first reservation of a Nepali skeptic of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sec­toral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is that, technically, Nepal should not even be a part of it as the country is not on the Bay of Bengal. Of course, as Constantino Xavier points out, this reading overlooks Nepal’s centuries-old trade and cultural ties with other BIMSTEC countries like India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Myanmar before the British colonized the Indian subcontinent.

The other concern is that India is promoting the seven-member BIMSTEC to somehow undercut the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the eight-member regional grouping which, unlike BIMSTEC, includes Pakistan, India’s arch-enemy. In this reckoning, Nepal should be wary of support­ing BIMSTEC whose achievements are underwhelm­ing, even when compared to the perennially-subpar SAARC. Also, while SAARC brings together eight coun­tries of South Asia, a natural construct, BIMSTEC incon­gruously embraces five South Asian and two Southeast Asian countries.

Whether the skeptics are right or not, Nepal ought to be careful. First, is there a tangible way Nepal can benefit from BIMSTEC? The Nepali parliament recent­ly passed an anti-terrorism bill as a part of its com­mitment to BIMSTEC. This will entail greater security cooperation with BIMSTEC countries, primarily with India. Have the implications of new security commit­ments to India been properly weighed?

It would also be wonderful if Nepal could leverage the BIMSTEC forum to gain direct land access to Ban­gladesh and Myanmar via India. But will India, which has been rather paranoid about the security threats it faces from its neighbors, be ready to offer Nepal such an unhindered passage to these countries, or to the Indian Ocean? And has Nepal calculated the cost of iso­lating Pakistan and making the SAARC forum defunct?

There has been little of substance from Nepal gov­ernment on how it can use BIMSTEC to deal with vital issues like climate change or cross-border power trade. The fourth BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu is sched­uled to issue a ‘BIMSTEC charter’. But what problems of Nepal will the charter help address again remain murky. In principle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Nepal spreading its global footprint in its quest for greater prosperity. But at what cost? Without such cool-headed calculation, we are afraid that Nepal’s cur­rent approach to BIMSTEC is a shot in the dark