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Chemical fertilizer imported from China is being transported to Kathmandu from Tatopani Customs Office.

The fertilizer, which was stored in a warehouse for the past 11 months, is being transported to Kathmandu after Trans Silk, the company getting contract to import fertilizer, completed the necessary process.

According to the Tatopani Customs Office, a total 3,500 tons of chemical fertilizer has been sent to Kathmandu after the agreement between Agriculture Materials Company and Trans Silk.

Chief of Tatopani Customs Office, Dayanand KC, said out of 3,500 tons of chemical fertilizer, more than 1,200 tonnes of fertilizer has reached Kathmandu so far.

The remaining amount of chemical fertilizer would reach Kathmandu soon. 

The price of gold has increased by Rs 700 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 139, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 138, 600 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 138, 650 per tola. It was traded at Rs 137, 950 per tola.

The price of silver, however, dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,720 per tola today.

Don McLain Gill is a geopolitical analyst, author, and lecturer at the Department of International Studies, De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines. Kamal Dev Bhattarai of ApEx talked with him about the changing geopolitical situation and regionalism. 

How do you see the history of regionalism in South Asia?

Following the Second World War, there has been a significant shift toward the formulation of trade and inter-state relations. As a result, states became eager for a new model that would not only promote and expand trade but would also contribute to peace by establishing international cooperative agreements and institutions to support them. Since the 1960s, there has been a noteworthy increase in regional cooperative projects all over the world. This pushed the developing world to explore the possibilities and opportunities of regional cooperation. However, it was important for states to recognize certain requirements in order to forge an effective regional group. One of these requirements was the need to look outward and limit self-centered interests that may hinder collective goals. However, this seems to be easier said than done, given the variation in every state’s history and priority, which may conflict with regional priorities.

Like elsewhere, the concept of regional cooperation gained attraction and acceptance in South Asia. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985 to enhance and promote intra-regional trade and economic cooperation. Later, South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) was signed in 1993. This was then followed by the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, which came into effect in 2006. However, Despite the enthusiasm brought by the spread of regional cooperation, the results have not been entirely praiseworthy.

While talking about regionalism in this area, SAARC obviously comes at the forefront, but it is in a state of limbo.  Do you see any chance of SAARC’s revival?

 It is crucial to understand that each region consists of its own dynamics and characteristics. Both external and internal factors must be taken into consideration when evaluating the success and effectiveness of regional cooperation. South Asian states have similar geographical, cultural, and societal features that are supposed to create a conducive environment for effective cooperation. Nevertheless, despite such advantageous factors, South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world. This can be attributed to both economic and non-economic factors ranging from tariff and non-tariff barriers and lack of comparative advantage to physical connectivity, divergent threat perceptions, and asymmetric power relations. 

Moreover, the evident historic dilemma between India and Pakistan poses a critical challenge for SAARC’s revival. Most especially since Pakistan’s consistent support for terror activities throughout the region serves as a major impediment to attaining a conducive environment for regional growth and cooperation. Moreover, Pakistan’s desire to involve extra-regional powers like China to undermine India’s territorial integrity, security, and sovereignty presents a deep-rooted challenge for the regional organization to come out of.

Can BIMSTEC become an alternative to SAARC?

With the rise of the Indo-Pacific construct, South Asia has become a sub-region to a greater Indo-Pacific. This creates more opportunities for South Asian states to expand the scope and boundaries of cooperation beyond the immediate neighborhood and into the other subregions of the Indo-Pacific. Thus, the utility of interregional frameworks like BIMSTEC must be maximized by its members to explore more opportunities for economic and security cooperation amidst the deadlock faced in SAARC. 

BIMSTEC serves as an important sub-regional arrangement where both South and Southeast Asian states can diversify and strengthen alternative economic options at a time when the Indo-Pacific is facing critical shifts brought by the unfolding US-China power competition. This provides an opportunity for BIMSTEC to regain its significance, given the vital economic and security linkages between Bay of Bengal and the Western Pacific. For South Asian states, this presents an important avenue to offset the strategic losses faced from SAARC and reinvest in alternative inter-regional platforms such as BIMSTEC.

Can countries of this region consider creating another regional bloc?

I believe it is unlikely for South Asian states to devote resources again to establish another regional organization. This contradicts the emerging trend in the Indo-Pacific of forging loose and area-specific arrangements between states that share common interests, concerns, and goals. Such arrangements can be in the form of minilateral groupings. I believe there is more potential for like-minded South Asian states to cooperate on key issue areas of mutual interest and concern through such a framework rather than reinvesting in traditional forms of regional cooperation.

Why did South East Asia succeed in embracing a robust regional body like ASEAN, but South Asia failed to do so?

ASEAN and SAARC are two regional organizations that were formed during the Cold War Era amidst the emerging trend toward regionalism and regional economic cooperation. However, ASEAN's function as a regional bloc is far more successful than that of SAARC. While the former is often considered as the benchmark for regional cooperation in the developing world, the latter is known for being the least integrated region in the world. There are several reasons behind this vast operational gap. Unlike SAARC, ASEAN has invested in enhancing connectivity projects between its member countries. Moreover, ASEAN’s intra-regional trade, despite its limitations, remains quite praiseworthy at 25 percent compared to SAARC, which is barely at five percent. 

However, aside from economic evaluations, it is more important to highlight the geopolitical differences between both organizations. Unlike ASEAN, the power dynamics in SAARC is far more asymmetrical. Moreover, the intersectional historical, cultural, and political dynamics of SAARC members are also significantly different from ASEAN members. The nature of protracted intra-regional conflicts, ongoing land boundary tensions, and cross border terrorism in South Asia is also more complicated than that of Southeast Asia. Thus, these are some of the important factors that need to be acknowledged in better understanding why SAARC continues to trail behind when it comes to regional integration.

How do the major powers like the US and China see regionalism in South Asia?

The US-China power competition centers on either strengthening or revising the established order in the Indo-Pacific. For the past few years, China has been seeking to present an alternative order in the form of the Global Security Initiative, which aims to push its role in Asia at the expense of US leadership. This may lead Beijing to exploit loopholes in key regional organizations to turn it against the West. We have seen attempts from China to turn the BRICS and SCO as anti-West groupings, but it has been unsuccessful. 

Similarly, the US and China are also competing for influence within ASEAN. However, such a scenario is unlikely for SAARC, given the lack of influence the organization has on South Asian politics. Therefore, it is likely for the US and China to directly engage with regional states for the purpose of deepening their respective strategic footprints in the vital sub-region of the Indo-Pacific.

Three persons died and 52 others were injured in a bus accident at Dharawati in Piskar-2 of Sindhupalchowk on Friday.

According to DSP Niranjan Bhattarai of the District Police Office, Sindhupalchowk, the bus (Ba 4 Kha 5616) belonging to Rolwaling Yatayat was carrying wedding attendants from Dolakha when the tragedy occurred in Dharawati, Tripura Sundari Rural Municipality-5 at around 7 am today.

The injured have been taken to a hospital for treatment.

Due to impacts of the westerly and local winds, the hilly region in the country including in Sudurpaschim is witnessing rain at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The weather in the rest of the parts is generally fair.

There is a possibility of light rain with thunder and lightning at one or two places in the hilly areas of Koshi Province and some places in the hilly areas of Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces. There is also a possibility of light snowfall at one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous regions of the country.

Tonight, the weather will remain fair with the possibility of light rain in one or two places in the hilly parts of the country.

Likewise, light rain coupled with thunderstorms is expected in one or two places in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces. Furthermore, Lumbini and some places in the plains of Sudurpaschim Province are likely to experience storms, according to the weather bulletin issued by the Department this morning.

Major political parties are busy forming and toppling governments at both the federal and provincial levels. Even a month after the change in the coalition at the center, the process of forming new governments in the provinces remains incomplete. Provincial governments have become even more unstable than the federal government. 

At the same time, major political parties are engaged in blame-games. The country is facing numerous challenges, such as an economic recession, rampant corruption, and poor governance. Even worse is the  silence of parties over sensitive issues that demand immediate and urgent attention. Over the past few months, Hindu-Muslim clashes in the Tarai region and Christian-Hindu clashes in the hill region have been escalating. Last week, the local administration in Sunsari had to impose a curfew for a couple of days to calm tensions. This week, tensions brewed when a rally organized by Hindu organizations was disrupted by another group. These incidents are not isolated; similar clashes are erupting in different parts of the country.

This surge in inter-community conflicts marks a troubling departure from Nepal's history of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among its diverse communities. It is evident that certain vested interests are sowing seeds of discord in Nepali society by providing financial and logistical support to fuel these tensions. Nepal's security agencies, including the Nepal Army, have ground information about the groups trying to create disturbance in Nepali society. It is time to act tough to control these activities. This should become the agenda of major political parties in Parliament. Unfortunately, parties preoccupied with power struggles have yet to take the issue seriously.

Major political parties must prioritize addressing this escalating social crisis. They must unequivocally denounce these divisive activities and urge their members to refrain from participating in such provocations. Similarly, civil society, media and other social organizations, including religious organizations, must also rally to confront this challenge. Such tensions could spiral out of control any time, unleashing a new crisis which will be more detrimental than the Maoist insurgency. The inaction from the government and political parties is surprising. As a first step, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal should call an all-party meeting to discuss this agenda.

Lumbini Province Chief Minister Jokh Bahadur Mahara expanded his Cabinet, inducting four ministers from CPN-UML, one from Nagarik Unmukti Party and one independent Province Assembly member.

They were appointed as the ministers without portfolio.

Bhumishwor Dhakal, Ratna Bahadur Khatri, Arjun Kumar KC and Dinesh Panthi from UML, Dharma Bahadur Chaudhary from Nagarik Unmukti Party and independent Province Assembly Khadga Basnet were appointed as the ministers, according to a letter issued from the Chief Minister's Office.

With the expansion of the Cabinet, the Lumbini Province Government now has 10 ministers.

Likewise, Chief Minister Mahara has assigned ministerial portfolios to Ministers Chet Narayan Acharya, Dipendra Kumar Pun Magar and Bhandarilal Ahir.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 19. 56 points to close at 1,972.14 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 04 points to close at 350. 47 points.

A total of 5,344,613-unit shares of 315 companies were traded for Rs 2. 09 billion.

Meanwhile, Khanikhola Hydropower Co. Ltd. (KKHC) was the top gainer today with their price surging by 7. 94 percent. Likewise, Ru Ru Jalbidhyut Pariyojana Limited (RURU) was the top loser as its price dropped by 9. 99 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 12 trillion.