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I’m a 33-year-old who thinks he hasn’t done enough in life. I see people around me accomplishing so much, whether it’s professionally or personally. I can’t help but feel like I’m falling behind. Although I know everyone moves at their own pace, and that it’s okay to take things slow, I can’t help but think I’m not measuring up. I feel overwhelmed and uninspired, which only makes things worse. What should I do? – A.D. Answered by Arpita Subba, psychologist, Happy Minds Feeling like you aren’t doing enough in life is a common experience, especially in our society, where success is often measured by external achievements like career accomplishments, financial status, and personal milestones. However, it’s necessary to understand that not everyone has the same definition of success. What might seem like a significant accomplishment to someone might not be important to another. So, comparing yourself to others and their successes is not only unhelpful but also unfair to you. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated at times, but it’s necessary to identify the underlying causes of these feelings. You might be unhappy with your career, or might feel like you’re not making progress in your personal life. Only when you’ve identified the root cause of the problem, can you finally work on addressing it.  One way to combat these feelings is to set achievable goals. This can be as simple as setting a daily or weekly to-do list or as complex as creating a long-term career or personal plan. The key is to break down your goals into smaller, manageable tasks that you can accomplish. By doing so, you’ll not only have a sense of direction and purpose, but also be able to track your progress and celebrate your achievements along the way. Another is to practice self-compassion. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge that you’re doing the best you can with the resources you have and circumstances you’re in. Understand that life isn’t a race, and everyone has their own journey. Comparing yourself to others only leads to feeling inadequate and self-doubt. Instead, focus on your own progress and growth, while celebrating small victories along the way. Regular habits can also influence our thoughts and emotions. When we engage in activities like socializing, or pursuing our passions, we’re more likely to think positively about ourselves and our abilities. So, make sure to pay attention to your thinking patterns, behavior, and emotions and how they’re interconnected.  It’s also essential to take care of your physical and mental health. Exercise regularly, eat a healthy and balanced diet, get enough sleep, and practice mindfulness, and relaxation techniques. When your body and mind both are healthy, you’ll have more energy and motivation to pursue your goals. Lastly, seek support from friends, family, or a professional if needed. Talking about your feelings with someone you trust can help you gain a certain perspective and receive much needed emotional support. 

After the formation of a government under the leadership of CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, various sectors were keen to know what shape Nepal’s foreign policy will take. When a new government is formed, there is always an opportunity to address the many political objectives, among which foreign policy is one. Domestic factors, other governments' actions or policies, or aspirations to achieve particular geopolitical designs all have an impact on how foreign policy is developed. Leopold Von Ranke prioritized geography and external challenges when determining foreign policy, but succeeding writers emphasized more on domestic issues. Foreign policy is frequently defined as being consistent in nature and not being affected by changes in the administration in charge of establishing it. However, in the context of Nepal, we can observe how many regimes have adopted changes in foreign policy in various ways. The Rana oligarchy, according to Professor Bhim Nath Baral, embraced an isolationist strategy. To put it another way, both the Rana oligarchy and the Panchayat Monarch were driven to advance a foreign policy that was centered on their own regimes. Political parties were motivated by party-centric foreign policy after the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, although it has been observed that in the democratic republican political system, foreign policy is driven by the motives of the political leadership at large. The propensity to conduct foreign policy within the framework of Nepali politics has failed in general to provide the right orientation in order to achieve the country's aspirations and fundamental mission. Shifting a global power Soft power proponent Joseph S Nye has stated: "Power is changing, and there are two types of changes. One is a change in the balance of power among the states, which can be emphasized by stating the message simply—that it is moving from the West to the East. The second is power diffusion, in which all states, whether in the West or the East, are losing power to non-state actors. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the US emerged as the only superpower, and it still sees itself in that position today.  Professor Graham Allison discussed the growth of China and popularized the phrase "Thucydides Trap," which refers to the idea that a rising power's attempt to usurp an existing one will always result in conflict.  In the current global order, we have observed a remarkable rise of the political and non-state players. The US and its allies are now deeply concerned about China's remarkable rise, and they are using a variety of strategies to try and slow it down. When China was only the US’ 24th-largest trading partner shortly after the declaration of its opening in 1978, total merchandise commerce between the two countries was only about $4 billion. However, by 2017, the US-China trade increased to $636 billion. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has the largest financial assets in the world ($4.2 trillion), making it a leader in digital innovation, e-commerce, and technology. China is engaging with various regions of the world through the BRI, GDI, GSI, and many more platforms and concepts. Similar to China, India is a major player in South Asia and another developing economic force in Asia. Due to its location between China and India, Nepal has drawn the interest of powerful nations. China and India were the first two countries to extend congratulations to Nepal following the election of Dahal as Prime Minister. A team of Chinese experts arrived in Nepal after Dahal’s election to study the Kathmandu-Kerung railway in depth and to reopen important ports shut for an extended period of time. A series of important visits have been taken from the UK, the UK and India amid these moves from China. This reflects global concerns about the new government’s take on the goals and preferences of major powers in light of geostrategic conflicts. Enhancing soft power The three main factors that influence a nation's soft power, in Nye's words, are its culture, political ideas, and foreign policies. However, economic power is an essential requirement for the majority of soft power. For two reasons: first, people aspire to be like those in prosperous countries rather than those in poorer ones, hence the bulk of soft power is based on and made possible by economic wealth. As a result, at this point, our main focus must be on using our resources to increase national wealth. The United States has Hollywood, famous brands and businesses, and a mission to ‘evangelize’ democracy; the European Union has a romantic and touristic allure, a shaky sense of supranational unity, and a comprehensive foreign assistance program; and other soft powers exhibit peculiar attributes in an international order. China is now heavily investing in soft power projects. Now, China has become the third destination for overseas students. According to the Liz Economy, China has a three-pronged approach. The first step is to develop the soft power of China, followed by more traditional concepts of culture, such as Confucianism, art, music, and literature. The creation of the means by which China can project its soft power is the third component of the plan. The Confucius Institutes are a means of disseminating public diplomacy, much like the Alliance Française, the British Council, and many US projects. People in Africa have favorable perceptions of China as a result of its development of commerce and investment on the continent and the proliferation of infrastructure projects spearheaded by China. Allow me to highlight some of the imperatives that must be brought into effect in engrossing national wealth.  We have abundant water resources, natural resources, mines and cultural diversity. We have been talking about our water resources for ages but we are not positioning the right use of it.  Beyond hydropower generation, we can harness our water resources and capitalize them into different forms. Water from the Himalayas can be exported abroad for drinking and ritualistic values. How can we motivate others to make our water occupancy in different forms is up to us. There are several untapped religious tourism destinations. Places like Khaptad, Ramaroshan, Badimalika, and so on across Nepal can be transformed into religious hubs as well as tourist destinations. We can introduce Vedic University and research centers in Khaptad, Badimalika and other such places. Tourism University can be established in Ramaroshan and Rara. We can identify other potential agricultural areas and develop them into large-scale production universities and research centers. We do not have a state-owned Gurukul in this sacred country. By establishing Gurukul Universities, we can attract people from different countries. These are some of the untapped ideas through which the country can generate considerable national wealth, which can be used for soft power projection. Path ahead The rise in the economic might of two regional powers, India and China, economic allies on the one hand and geopolitical rivals on the other, has changed the nature of regional politics. This puzzling relationship between them has created space for ambiguity in the regional order, making South Asia's geopolitics highly unstable from a strategic standpoint. To contain China and its geo-economic strategy, including BRI, GSI, and GDI, the US and its allies have launched a number of economic and geostrategic initiatives, including B3W, IPS, and AUKUS. An intense struggle between these powerful nations, which is "strategy-loaded," has reshaped the geopolitical landscape. This is unlike the Cold War era, when two blocs competed for power and attempted to contain one another. Nepal must be very careful in choosing the preferences and choices based on its national priorities, comparative advantage, rather than reiterating the old rhymes of non-alignment. Multiple actors, emerging from the dawn of the 21st century in the current international political order, have their own priorities and preferences. Foreign policy must be developed on the basis of national consensus in which all political parties, specialists and stakeholders reach an understanding that prioritizes national interest under the guiding matra of “Comparative Advantage”. The author is PhD Scholar at CCNU, International Relations, China

Nepal’s political leadership pledging to conclude the long-drawn-out transitional justice process has just been about talking the talk. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the former rebel group, Maoists, and government was signed in 2006. That was 17 years ago, and the victims of the decade-long armed insurgency waged by the Maoists against the state are still clamoring for justice. When Nepal reaffirmed its commitment to conclude the transitional justice process at the ongoing 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council last week, it sounded disingenuous to many people, particularly conflict victims. Then there was another glaring reason to look askance. The government of Nepal, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist party, had sent Govinda Prasad Koirala to lead the Nepali delegation after barring Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Poudyal from attending the UN meet under way in Geneva. With the CPN-UML’s decision to pull out of the coalition government, the prime minister thought it would be unwise to send Poudyal, a minister from UML, to represent his government at the UN council. This last-minute change of plans also starkly showed the world the fluid political situation in Nepal. This incident came at a time when the international community is keenly watching the new government’s commitment to seeing through the transitional justice process. It didn’t help either that Prime Minister Dahal is one of the chief actors of the conflict in which more than 17,000 people were killed. In his address to the UN Human Rights Council, Koirala reiterated Nepal’s commitment to conclude the transitional justice process and provide justice and reparations to the victims. He said the new government would be guided by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, directives of the Supreme Court and in line with Nepal’s international commitment on human rights. Koirala also informed the international community that the amendment proposal on Enforced Disappearance and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2014 would soon be tabled in Parliament. It was noteworthy that Koirala, who previously served as minister of law during which he had made a tall claim of concluding transitional justice within six months, was trying to convince the UN member states that Nepal was on track to deliver justice to the conflict victims. The story of transitional justice at home is very different. The two transitional justice mechanisms — Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons—are without their heads and office-bearers for eight months now. Successive governments have been extending the term of both commissions that are essentially toothless, without office bearers and resources. The new government under Dahal is being pressed by the international community to take concrete steps to settle the war-era crimes and cases of human rights violation. The Maoist prime minister also seems eager to conclude the peace process. But there is a distinct contrast in the way the two sides see the act of delivering justice. The Maoists want a reconciliatory approach while settling most of the cases and prosecuting only those incidents that are serious in nature. But the international community as well as the conflict victims strongly oppose such a plan. They are in favor of thoroughly screening all incidents and prosecuting them based on the nature of seriousness. Even Nepal’s Supreme Court is on the side of the victims on this one. The highest court in the land in its 2015 verdict has closed the door for blanket amnesty on serious cases and directed the government and political parties to accordingly amend the transitional justice act. The government in July last year came up with an amendment bill to the transitional justice act. While the proposed amendments were a slight improvement to the previous laws, they are still flawed in many ways. The amendment bill registered in Parliament is yet to be presented. But it has already generated enough talking points. The international community has cited several flaws including the wordings that make it possible to grant amnesty for certain gross violations of human rights, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. There is also the provision where the verdicts handed down by a special tribunal for transitional justice would not be subject to judicial appeal, which is in violation of international fair trial guarantees. Until major political parties of Nepal come together on the bill to amend the transitional justice act, it is unlikely to be endorsed by Parliament. And building a consensus on things that matter is an almost impossible task in Nepal. For the Nepali Congress and the UML, two other major political forces in Nepal, the transitional justice process has always been a bargaining chip to exploit the Maoists to serve their political interests. They are equally responsible for rendering the two transitional justice commissions powerless. The long overdue transitional justice process cannot be concluded on the whims of political parties. The two transitional justice commissions have collected 66,000 complaints from the conflict victims, but only some of these cases have so far gone through the preliminary investigation round. Once the complaints are recorded, they should be thoroughly investigated to satisfy the victims, which has not happened so far. Legal experts say it could take at least four to five years to conclude the transitional justice process, provided the two commissions are empowered with staff and resources. But Nepali political parties have always taken a wrong attitude to taking the peace process to its logical end. They think that with broad political consensus, the transitional justice process could be concluded overnight. The reality is they have turned this issue into a political weapon for their gains. No wonder they did not hold wider public consultation while coming up with transitional justice laws and showed reluctance to follow the Supreme Court’s verdict. In his address to the UN council, Koirala, on behalf of the Dahal government, conveyed the message of Nepal’s transitional justice process making progress. But if you asked the conflict victims, it has barely moved an inch. The longer the concerned parties and stakeholders delay the transitional justice process, things are likely to get more complicated. Take the latest Supreme Court’s direction concerning the prosecution of Prime Minister Dahal, for example. The court on Friday ordered its administration to register a writ petition against Dahal, who had claimed responsibility of 5,000 insurgency-related deaths at a public event some three years ago. Hearing a case filed by two advocates against the decision of the Supreme Court administration to reject their petitions last November, a division bench of justices Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Hari Prasad Phuyal has ordered the court administration to register their suits. Advocates Gyanendra Aaran and Kalyan Budhathoki, who are also conflict victims, had filed separate writ petitions to take legal action against Prime Minister Dahal, but the court administration had refused to do so, claiming that the issue was related to transitional justice. The Supreme Court’s decision has rattled Prime Minister Dahal and his party. They are crying foul over what they say is a conspiracy to corner them by bringing up the conflict-era cases, which ought to be dealt by the transitional justice commissions. But the Maoist party should know that they cannot forever hide behind the shield of transitional justice for their convenience whenever someone brings a case against them in the court of law. They have to put genuine commitment to empower the transitional justice mechanisms and respect their findings if they ever wish to put their violent history behind them. There is no two ways about it, the conflict victims deserve their long overdue closure. Or else, there will be more legal and political complications in the days to come.

While Nepal has bilateral trade with 154 countries, it enjoys a trade surplus with only 33 countries. According to the Department of Customs (DoC) statistics, Nepal has a trade surplus with countries including Denmark, United States, Algeria, Cambodia, Norway, Romania, Chad, Uruguay, Afghanistan, and Latvia. However, this does not hold much significance in terms of the monetary value as the trade surplus is pretty low as the country does not have large bilateral trade with these countries except the United States. Nepal has the highest trade surplus of Rs 395.62 million with Denmark. The country exported goods worth Rs 594.45 million while imported goods worth Rs 204.33 million from Denmark in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. The United States is another country with whom Nepal enjoys a trade surplus in this fiscal. Nepal has a surplus of Rs 87.62 million in bilateral trade with the world's largest economy in this fiscal year. The country exported goods worth Rs 10.73 billion while imported goods worth Rs 10.64 million during this period. While the country's total trade deficit has declined in the current fiscal, Nepal has a huge trade deficit with the countries with which it has large bilateral trade with the United States being an exception. The impact of import restrictions and cash margins on imports, the measures that were introduced a year ago to check the depleting foreign currency reserves, is still visible in the country's foreign trade. Nepal's foreign trade has decreased by 20.84 points in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. With both imports and exports declining, the overall trade deficit has also decreased by 18.71 percent. As per the DoC data, Nepal's exports declined by 29.03 percent to Rs 93.43 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, particularly due to the dramatic decline in the exports of palm oil, soyabean oil, and sunflower oil to India. The exports of edible oils have slumped massively in the first seven months of FY 2022/23. The exports of palm oil slumped to Rs 13.92 billion from Rs 34.15 billion. Likewise, exports of soyabean oil also dipped to Rs 8.27 billion in the first seven months of this fiscal from Rs 36.85 billion in the same period last fiscal year. Similarly, the country's imports have also decreased by 19.90 percent to Rs 919.16 billion. The eight-month-long import restrictions as well as the provision of cash margin have put a brake on the imports in this fiscal year. India is Nepal’s largest trade partner with the highest share of both exports and imports. According to the statistics, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 66.23 billion and imported goods valued at Rs 570.97 billion in this fiscal. The trade deficit with the southern neighbor currently stands at Rs 504.74 billion The second largest trading partner is China. Exports to the northern neighbor stood at Rs 422.65 million billion while imports stood at Rs 125.05 billion. According to DoC, India, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, France, Australia, Japan, and Italy are the top 10 export destinations of Nepal. In terms of imports, India, China, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Malaysia, United States, Ukraine, Australia, and Qatar are the top 10 import destinations of Nepal.