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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that Nepal and India being close neighbors have built a longstanding history of mutual friendship and cooperation.

The salient features of Nepal-India ties include geographical proximity; religious, cultural and linguistic relations; economic engagement and intensely flourished people-to-people relations, the minister noted.

In his closing remarks at the third series of lectures launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in honor of former Ambassador and former Foreign Secretary Prof Yadunath Khanal on Tuesday evening, he said Nepal-India relations are nurtured by nature, bound by cultural affinity, comprehensive, multi-dimensional and incomparable.

"But there are some bilateral issues historically left behind that need to be resolved through dialogue and diplomatic channels based on historical facts and in accordance with the spirit of good neighborhood", he said.

The third series was focused on Nepal-India relations featuring Prof C Rajmohan, former Director of the Academy of South Asian Studies, as the keynote speaker.

This will pave the way for taking Nepal-India relations to a new height, for which the Government of Nepal is committed, DPM Shrestha said, reiterating that the bilateral relations are based on sovereign equality, peaceful coexistence, goodwill, mutual trust and understanding.

Minister Shrestha said the exchange of high-level visits has helped strengthen the relations and enhance partnership in many fields.

Sharing that a consultative mechanism has been established to facilitate cooperation in various areas of bilateral relations, he said such mechanisms have helped enhance mutual cooperation and partnership.

There is wider scope for cooperation in various areas of mutual benefits, he said that partnership in the energy sector is important. "Proper utilization of Nepal’s immense potential of hydropower generation can transform the development landscape of our region into clean energy", he said.

"Cross-border connectivity is being expanded to facilitate trade and transit. We need to further expand and improve this network", Minister Shrestha said, adding that both countries should find ways to make mutual trade profitable.

Stating that the multinational companies operating in Nepal have withdrawn their money from their investments, he said Nepal has become an attractive destination for investment.

There is a lot of scope for cooperation between Nepal and India in the field of information technology, the Foreign Minister stressed the need to expand bilateral cooperation in the field of education, science and technology.

Stating that Nepal's development and economic prosperity would also serve the interests of its neighbors, he said a peaceful neighborhood was Nepal's desire. 

Prof Rajmohan said Nepal and India have similar global challenges and both the countries are facing them. Stating that small countries have been affected by the power struggle between the powerful nations, he stressed the need for the political leadership to find a solution to it carefully.

Noting that Kathmandu and New Delhi should learn from Beijing, he said China has improved relations with Russia and the USA as per the need. Although Beijing's relations with Washington now are straining, relations with Moscow are strong, he said.

Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal informed that the lecture series has been organized to enhance thematic knowledge, discuss with the scholars about the existing foreign policy and practices of the country.

Khanal had served the nation as foreign secretary for two terms and ambassador to China, India and the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started this lecture series in the honor of the country's renowned diplomat Prof Khanal.

The Korean government is set to provide assistance of USD 9.8 million for the creation of green jobs in Pokhara.

The MoU for the project 'Green Job Creation through Recycling and Up-cycling Project in Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC)' was signed by Ambassador of Korea to Nepal, Taeyoung Park and Finance Secretary, Madhu Kumar Marasini at a programme organized at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

The Korean Government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will spend the assistance amount for this project. The project will be implemented by UNDP in Pokhara in close collaboration with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) and Pokhara Metropolitan City.

The primary objective of this project is to create sustainable recycling and up-cycling enterprises to foster green economic practices.

One of the core components of this project is to establish a Green Venture Zone (GVZ), which is one of the state-of-the-art centers for understanding re-cycle, up-cycle, innovation and startups. The GVZ will showcase final products crafted from recycled and u-cycled materials, featuring exhibition halls hosting national and international events revolving around environmental themes.

Secretary Marasini expressed gratitude to the Korean Government for the partnership which will enhance the friendly relation between the two countries.

Also speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Park highlighted opportunities of this initiative to enable unemployed individuals with enhanced skills, establish green ventures, and contribute to the economic growth of the country.

He further emphasized that the project shall create the next level of understanding among community people on managing waste properly.

The ceremony also commemorated the 50 years of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Korea.

Expressing the similarities between the two countries, Ambassador Park stated that Nepal is a priority country for development cooperation and he assured to further strengthen the cooperation and friendly ties between the two countries. 

The Korean government has been supporting Nepal through KOICA in various areas of health, vocational training, rural development and IT since 1991. By 2023, the total amount of KOICA's support surpassed two hundred million US Dollars.

Press Council Nepal stressed that journalistic code of conduct must be fully followed while publishing or broadcasting the journalistic contents.

Journalists said that the Press Council should actively make aware about the code of conduct at a time when there is an increase in the number of fake news on digital platforms.

Speaking at a program organized by the Press Council in Doleshwor, Bhaktapur on Tuesday, all the participants expressed their collective commitment to abide by the journalistic code of conduct while publishing or broadcasting the journalistic contents.

In the program organized by the Press Council Nepal and coordinated by the Federation of Nepali Journalists on challenges of journalism including YouTube and online media and questions on code of conduct in Bhaktapur, editors of various media outlets, journalists and media persons expressed their commitment to follow the code of conduct.

Council Chairman Bal Krishna Basnet said that journalists are not allowed to make mistakes in the name of publishing the news.

“Journalists are not allowed to make mistakes. Human errors should be corrected immediately. The Council has been regulating and monitoring the contents regularly,” Chairman Basnet said.

Saying that the print media should also go online in recent times, he said it is necessary to use the digital media platforms and the media must follow the code of conduct.

Emphasizing that the government should conduct a media literacy campaign across the country, Council Chairman Basnet said, “It is necessary that the state should conduct a media literacy campaign throughout the country. The state should allocate the budget for the same. The Press Council has been conducting a media literacy campaign across the country with limited budget. The state should also extend support to the campaign. The provincial and local government should also support such type of campaign”

On the occasion, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) Chairman Dharmendra Jha said that the Council has been regulating new media including YouTube in an organized manner. He further said that other agencies should also facilitate this work.

“Now, the media has been digitalized. It does not mean that the future of print media is at a threatened stage. The print media is still in a wait-and-a-see situation,” he said.

Also speaking in the program, Federation of Nepali Journalists Chairman Bipul Pokharel said that the print media are also being digitized.

“Now, it is necessary to think in a different way. It is necessary that the print media should also be digitized. Now, the distribution system of papers should also be made through technology,” he said.

Journalist Ujjwal Acharya said that the media outlets should find an alternative to advertisements as the source of income.

President Ramchandra Poudel on Tuesday presented the government's policies and programs for the fiscal year 2025-26 in the joint session of Federal Parliament, outlining ambitious plans like transforming Nepal into a global IT hub, putting Nepal’s own satellite into space and reintroducing the slogan of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali, a vision of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli that harks back to his rule in 2018.

Some of the key takeaways from the policy document, on the basis of which the government plans to present its annual budget shortly, are as follows:

Focus on IT

The document has declared the next decade as the 'Information Technology Decade' so as to achieve socio-economic transformation and prosperity by taking information technology as the basis for digital transformation. 

Reading out the government’s year-long roadmap at the joint session, President Paudel outlined a vision to develop Nepal as a global information technology hub by promoting the development of  the IT industry as the major sector of employment and service export. 

The government has a ‘lofty’ plan of creating at least 5,000 jobs by running IT work stations in the Kathmandu Valley and each province. 

Creation of internet and data exchange platforms for maintaining inter-affiliation among electronic systems figures is part of the blueprint along with the expansion of broadband internet and high-capacity optical fiber network, and satellite-based internet services (in remote and rural areas). Development of an Information Technology Knowledge Park is also on the agenda and so is the development of a Data Center and standards for its operation. 

The policy aims to put institutional arrangements in place for enhancing the effectiveness of research, response and public awareness on cybersecurity-related works. Increasing the access of women, minorities and backward classes, regions and communities to information technology through expansion of digital literacy is also part of the plan. 

It envisages making IT systems in use in public bodies safer and more reliable through technical testing of hardware, software and network, among others. As per the plan, the government sector itself will develop systems and software to be used in government bodies, pledging to give preference to domestically-developed software.

Postal service 2.0 

Restructuring the postal service and making it fast, efficient and information technology-friendly, and linking it with e-commerce is very much on the agenda. What’s more, the government plans to arrange state-of-the-art, high-quality and competitive printing of excise stickers, postage stamps, driving licenses and passports.

Integrated services

In collaboration with local levels, the government plans to bring citizen service centers into operation so as to provide all public services under one roof.

Space is the limit

Encouragingly, the government’s vision has gone well beyond the gravitational pull as it seeks to accelerate efforts to put Nepal's own satellite into the orbit. 

Something for the media

In the larger scheme of things, there’s something for the mass media too as the document pledges policy, legal and structural reforms for professional development of the sector. As expected, regulating social media to make it “dignified and well-managed” is part of the plan along with the promotion of rural journalism in mother tongue. The plan also entails development and operation of Media Village in all provinces. In collaboration with Lumbini Province, it aims to begin preparatory work for the establishment of Krishnasen Media Village in Dang. The blueprint has pledged to encourage the merger of TV stations, FM stations and internet service providers. 

Powering the economy

In the finance-economy sector, the policy paper has pledged measures to address issues facing banks and financial institutions as well as microfinance, cooperative sectors and the capital market. 

It has assured of the facility of loan re-tabulation and restructuring for microfinance debtors by making suitable changes in the cooperative policy. 

The policy has pledged to encourage merger of savings and credit cooperatives and facilitate the integration of government-owned cooperatives. The plan is also to bring savings and credit cooperatives under the Cooperative and Poverty-related Management Information System. 

It further aims to pool in scattered small capital for implementing big projects apart from seeking the involvement of private investment companies for operation and management of closed industries such as the Gorakhkali Rubber Industry, Butwal Spinning Mills and Hetauda Garment Factory. A just, balanced and estimable revenue distribution system is also part of the big plan. 

Sharing of resources

The blueprint has pledged integrated laws for determining mobilization and sharing of natural resources, investment, and profit-sharing among three-level governments, as well as for resolving disputes among them. 

Attracting investment

Mobilization of innovative instruments of development finance with additional legal provisions for encouragement of private capital mobilization features in the document and so do legal and structural interventions to enhance and expand domestic and external investment atmosphere, along with attracting foreign loans and other mixed forms of investment. 

Commitment to further simplifying the approval process for domestic and foreign investment through an automated digital system is also on the government’s agenda. 

A thousand freeships

The document has pledged fellowship to 1,000 talented youths representing different sectors.

President Ramchandra Paudel said the government will provide fellowship to these youths, adding that the private sector will also be encouraged to provide such freeships. 

A volunteer program for the mobilization of youths and their capacity enhancement figures is part of the plan and so is the empowerment of youths through skills development, financial literacy and entrepreneurship development training. The idea is to turn them into key partners and torchbearers in all aspects of social life. 

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A short break

Earlier in the day, Nepali Congress, the main opposition party that had been obstructing the Parliament for long demanding the formation of a parliamentary panel to probe Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in a cooperative fraud, decided to allow President Paudel to present the government’s policies and programs. According to NC leaders, the party has decided to give continuity to parliamentary obstructions after the presentation of policies and programs. 

Two citizens from Mongolia have gone missing during an expedition to Sagarmatha (Mt Everest).

According to the Department of Tourism, those missing have been identified as Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 31 and Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 53. They both are males.

The Department was informed about the incident by its Field Office at the Everest Base Camp.

They were last seen ascending to the peak of the Summit from the Everest fourth camp at 8:45 am on May 13 by another expedition team.

The search operation for them is underway at potential locations with the help of rescue management agencies, it is said.

Their expedition was arranged by the Eight K Expeditions Pvt Ltd.

The government is to make arrangements to supply drinking water to the Kathmandu Valley through the Melamchi Drinking Water Project for 12 months.

President Ram Chandra Paudel said so while presenting the government's policies and programs on Tuesday.

He said that the water will be supplied to the areas outside the ring road and connected to Araniko Highway in Bhaktapur after the arrangements of supply of drinking water to Kathmandu Valley through Melamchi Drinking Water Project for the whole year.

The President said that the water will be collected from the water sources in Shivapuri National Park for the sustainable solution to the drinking water problem in Kathmandu Valley.

The government has announced that it will pay the salaries of the teachers working in public schools on a monthly basis.

Presenting the policies and programs of the government, President Ram Chandra Paudel said that arrangements will be made to pay the salaries of the teachers monthly.

Similarly, he said that scholarship and leadership development training will be given to enhance the capacity of the teachers.

The government has adopted a policy of using water transport.

Presenting the government’s policies and programs, President Ram Chandra Paudel said that waterways with terminals will be constructed in Sunkoshi and Narayani Rivers.