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US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland on Monday laid out the key issues that America wants to work on with the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government. The top State Department official arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday evening as part of her trip to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Qatar. On Monday, she held separate meetings with Prime Minister Dahal, Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Poudyal, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. The meetings revolved around the topics of US-Nepal bilateral partnership, Nepal’s transitional justice process, and transparency, among others. Speaking to the media later in the day, Nuland said the US wants to enhance long-standing partnership to support Nepal’s economic development. “The US wants to see Nepal as a strong economic power, I am excited to go home and discuss in Washington what happened here in Nepal,” she added. In her meeting with Prime Minister Dahal, the first agenda under discussion was a smooth implementation of projects under the US’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact: construction of transmission line and road upgradation. “We, of course, discussed the next step in finalizing the MCC projects,” said Nuland. Nepal’s parliament endorsed the MCC Nepal Compact in February last year amid protests from some fringe parties on the left. The projects are due to enter their execution phase in August, and the US wants assurance from the Dahal government that they are implemented without obstructions. Despite parliamentary ratification of the compact, some elements are still trying to obstruct its progress. There have been reports about protests in areas where the transmission line under the MCC is to be constructed. Another issue that figured in the meeting between the US official and top Nepali leaders was the long-drawn-out transitional justice process. According to Nuland, they discussed the transitional justice bill, which is under deliberation. The US and other Western powers are of the view that the transitional justice process should be victim-centric. They are against the idea of granting blanket amnesty on cases of serious human rights violations. “The US is ready to provide support to implement the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) laws,” said Nuland. The US official also took up the issue of investment climate in Nepal. She told senior government and political party leaders that US investors are eager to invest in Nepal, provided there is a conducive environment. Corruption in Nepal remains a key concern for the US when it comes to building a trustworthy investment climate. The Joe Biden administration has come up with the first-ever United States Strategy on Countering Corruption aimed at elevating the fight against corruption, not only at home but also abroad. Foreign visits of top Biden officials are also aimed at enhancing US partnership on global issues, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the state of democracy, and the threat of cyber attacks. Nuland said she and Nepali leaders discussed ways to enhance partnership to foster democracy in Nepal. She said the US was ready to provide technical support to Nepal in the field of cybersecurity. Asked about the growing US-China geopolitical rivalry, Nuland advised Nepal to maintain good relations with all neighbors. “We welcome Nepal having a good relationship with all its neighbors,” she said. But while forging economic partnership with neighbors, she said, making a veiled reference to China, that Nepal should pay attention “to protect its sovereignty, ensure that it is good for Nepal, there is no corruption and everything is transparent”. Nuland refrained from making any comments on China’s protest against the MCC. She said the Biden administration was engaging more with China.

Medical experts have warned that consumption of trans fat is harmful for health. The proportion of chronic heart disease due to trans fatty acid intake is 4.38 percent in Nepal, the World Health Organization has reported. Five billion people globally remain unprotected from harmful trans fat, a new status report from the UN health organization has found, increasing their risk of heart disease and death. Though a number of people are suffering from chronic heart diseases in the country they are unaware of trans fat and the health risks associated with it. “Nepali people are not serious about the consumption of trans fat and its health risk. Public has ignored it,” says Dr Sachin Dhungel, senior consultant cardiologist at Gautam Buddha Community Heart Hospital, Butwal. Trans fats are artificial compounds, mostly formed through an industrial process. These fats are produced by adding hydrogen in vegetable oil. It helps the oil to become solid at room temperature and has a long shelf life. Some meat and dairy products also have a small amount of naturally occurring trans fats. The WHO has said that industrially produced trans fats or trans-fatty acids are commonly found in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils and spreads. They are mostly found in processed and baked items such as cakes, breads, cookies, pizza, fried foods, French fries, doughnuts and fried chicken, biscuits and rolls, instant noodles etc. “These food items are easily available and people are influenced by lucrative advertisements. The taste of the foods prepared in the oil is enhanced, luring people to consume them,” says Prof Uma Koirala, nutritionist. Instead of consuming junk and processed food items, she suggests eating homemade food items. She also advises against eating foodstuff cooked in oil that has been repeatedly heated, as it increases bad cholesterol in the body. “Trans fat is liquid oils turned into solid fats during food processing. Trans fat deals a double whammy to cholesterol, by increasing LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreasing HDL (healthy cholesterol),” adds Koirala. Medical experts say trans fat in foods deposit in veins and could create blockage in the long run, which in turn raises the risk of coronary heart diseases, stroke, cancer and type two diabetes. Nepal Burden of Disease 2019 study reports that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were the leading cause of deaths, with 24 percent of total deaths attributed to cardiovascular diseases. The proportion of deaths attributable to CVDs was 26.8 percent in males and 20.7 percent in females. Trans fat intake is responsible for up to 500,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease each year around the world, according to WHO. “Trans fat helps in increasing cholesterol level and forms plaque, narrowing the blood vessels. When there is a blockage in the blood vessels, it impacts the function of the heart. The blockage can rupture the vessels and cause heart attack and stroke. People are even under the risk of paralysis,” says Dr Dhungel. He adds at least 25 patients with high blood pressure, cholesterol level, and heart attack are visiting the Butwal based hospital daily. The health risk is more in people over 40 but people below 40 are also suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart problems because of the consumption of foods rich in trans fat, say doctors. Since WHO first called for the global elimination of industrially produced trans fat in 2018–with an elimination target set for 2023–population coverage of best-practice policies has increased almost six-fold. Forty-three countries have now implemented best-practice policies for tackling trans fat in food, with 2.8 billion people protected globally. Despite substantial progress, this still leaves five billion people worldwide at risk from trans fat’s devastating health impacts with the global goal for its total elimination in 2023 remaining unattainable at this time. Situation in Nepal There is a wide use of trans fat in food items produced in Nepal. Also the consumption of such foods is high here. The government has approved the Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (2021–2025), which includes a trans fatty acid target of two percent to be implemented by 2023. The WHO has said that currently, 9 of the 16 countries with the highest estimated proportion of coronary heart disease deaths caused by trans fat intake do not have a best-practice policy. These countries are Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, and the Republic of Korea. To achieve the goal, the WHO organized a capacity building workshop on eliminating trans fatty acid in Nepal in July 2022. Analysis of trans fatty acid in commonly consumed foods has been completed, providing further evidence for the need to introduce trans fatty acid regulations in Nepal. The best way for preventing the health risk is to avoid eating food items prepared in trans fat. “We must replace oils containing high trans fats with healthier options. Mustard, sunflower and soya based oils are better,” advised Koirala. Fat is necessary for health. It helps in metabolism. The daily intake of oil such as in cooking vegetables and in lentils is healthy. It helps in regular metabolism. But an intake of trans fat will have an adverse effect on one’s health. The government has made policies but their implementation is lacking. The market must be regularly inspected, consumers and sellers should be made aware, and the quality of the foods made in Nepal and those imported from other countries must be maintained, say medical experts. “Trans fat has no known benefit, and huge health risks that incur huge costs for health systems,” says WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “By contrast, eliminating trans fat is cost effective and has enormous benefits for health. Put simply, trans fat is a toxic chemical that kills, and should have no place in food. It’s time to get rid of it once and for all.”  

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland is on a visit to the Middle East and South Asia. Her stopovers in South Asia and the Middle East point at the significance of respective countries in the United States’ global and regional scheme of things. In Nepal, her first stop, Nuland sought to acquaint with the new political parties and the new administration. US engagement with and commitment to Nepal is not unaccustomed and ought not be undervalued. Nepal should comprehend the goodness in the relationship rather than giving it a political color. It is also an opportunity to strengthen Nepal’s foreign policy by having a cordial relationship with both the immediate neighbors while utilizing US support and accepting efforts for enhancing development commitments to convening the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The US can be a reliable partner in utilizing the resources for boosting the economy and enriching the national image. It is evident that the US is looking at Nepal to enhance cooperation and coordinate efforts for strengthening democratic appeals, enriching human rights and promoting the state policy as per Article 51 of the Constitution. Her next stop, India, is a rising power in the region and holds significance in conjunction with bilateral, regional and global issues. The trip also takes her to Sri Lanka, a country in need of support to stabilize the economy, protect human rights and promote reconciliation. Qatar, the next stop, has remained a strategic partner for peace and stability in the Middle East and the liabilities of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In all, the trip is a reflection of wide-ranging American interests in Asia.

Victoria Nuland, US under secretary of state for political affairs, arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday to “engage with the new government on the broad agenda of the US partnership with Nepal”. It will be the first high-level visit of a foreign official since the formation of a new government under Pushpa Kamal Dahal in December last year. According to the US State Department, the primary American objectives in Nepal are strengthening good governance, democratic values, and security and stability. Supporting inclusive, equitable economic growth; a clean, resilient energy future; and helping Nepal become more self-reliant, independent, and resilient as it confronts global challenges are other US objectives in Nepal. A senior US official says Nuland’s daylong visit will focus on all key areas of US-Nepal partnership. Nepal’s parliament ratified the US’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in February last year, and Washington clearly attaches high priority on its successful implementation. The $500m grant is aimed at expanding Nepal’s electricity transmission infrastructure and improving its road maintenance regime. The MCC projects will enter their execution phase from August. Some say the MCC is Washington’s response to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. And in the run-up to the MCC endorsement by Nepali parliament, there have been protests, led by pro-Beijing political forces and their leaders, against the US program. The US still suspects that the project development could face hindrances—all the more so because the current government is led by the Maoist party with the backing of CPN-UML, another leftist force, as a major coalition partner.  Nuland’s trip also bears high significance amid growing US-China competition to increase their sphere of influence in South Asia. Nepal, which shares borders with China and India, has strategic importance for both Washington and Beijing. In this context, Kamal Dev Bhattarai spoke to foreign policy experts to solicit their views on Nuland’s visit. Who is Nuland? Victoria Nuland was sworn-in as Under Secretary for Political Affairs in April 2021. Prior to that, she was senior counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm based in Washington, DC.  She was also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, distinguished practitioner in grand strategy at Yale University, and a member of the board of the National Endowment for Democracy. A US diplomat for 33 years, Nuland served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs from September 2013 until January 2017 under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. She was State Department spokesperson during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure, and US ambassador to NATO during President George W. Bush’s second term (2005-2008). Nuland served as special envoy and chief negotiator on the Treaty on Conventional Arms Control in Europe from 2010-2011, and as deputy national security advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney (2003-2005). In addition to two tours at NATO in Brussels, she has served overseas in Russia, China and Mongolia, and in various assignments at the State Department in Washington. Nuland has a BA in history from Brown University. Reading into the high-profile visit Engaging Maoist-led govt  Sanjaya Upadhyay, US-based foreign policy expert I believe the underlying message the United States wants to send to Nepal at this juncture is that Washington is fully vested in securing its interests in this country. In that regard, Nuland’s visit is aimed at engaging the new Maoist-led government, especially amid suspenseful circumstances of its formation. She can be expected to convey the US commitment to strengthening its bilateral partnership with Nepal in all its dimensions. Washington might want to gauge Nepal’s commitment, specifically the extent of the importance the disparate coalition government attaches to relations with the United States. Washington is anxious to see the smooth implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact along with other projects the United States has funded in the country. Nuland can also be expected to affirm her government’s desire to see a strengthening of the democratic process in Nepal amid growing popular disillusionment here. She might want to nudge Nepal toward completing the long-delayed task of promoting transitional justice. Advancing the cause of deprived and disadvantaged communities, and ensuring the rights of refugees as an intrinsic part of the democratization process could also be part of her message to the new government. Heightening US competition with China in recent years gives the US greater strategic incentives to strengthen its engagement with South Asia, where Chinese influence has been growing. Long-term engagement Mrigendra Bahadur Karki, executive director, CNAS Since the establishment of ties between the two countries in 1947, the US has been continuously and consistently engaging with Nepal, despite repeated regime change in Nepal. The US has a long-term vision and has a recorded history of how it wants to engage with Nepal. In Nepal, we view our relationship with the US through the prism of some specific events and phenomenon, which is flawed. Regarding the US engagement with Nepal, the importance of our geopolitical location is already there. As far as the visit of Nuland is concerned, her major purpose is to convey the US position on bilateral, regional and international issues and read the mind of the newly-formed government under Pushpa Kamal Dahal. At this point, it is a major responsibility of both Nepal and US governments to fully implement the MCC and complete it within the five-year deadline. Geopolitics at centerstage Chandra Dev Bhatta, geopolitical analyst Nepal's engagement with the US has increased in recent years in more ways than one and at various levels. This demands frequent exchanges of visits not from one side but from both sides, which sadly has not been the case. Yet, it certainly becomes important for a superpower like the US, for whom all the countries are equally important irrespective of their size, to maintain the status quo, and Nepal certainly cannot be left out in that context. Likewise, evolving geopolitics in Asia further demands US engagements to look into the re-emerging power relations in the Himalayan Asia, where Nepal remains an important country. This particular visit is taking place at a time when Kathmandu has a new government and the MCC project is just underway with more initiatives in the pipeline. With the new government in Kathmandu looking very shaky, chances are such that many things may either fall apart or would not move into the right direction. The current state of affairs in Nepal and the evolving geopolitics in the region demands better understanding of the situation, which makes this visit only natural. An assessment visit Rupak Sapkota, foreign policy expert Before the November 20 elections, it was widely presumed that the Nepali Congress-Maoist coalition would remain intact. But that didn’t happen. External forces are keenly watching the foreign policy priorities and orientation of the new government. I think the key purpose of this visit is to read the mind of the new government regarding its policy toward America. As a key coalition partner of the erstwhile government, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal facilitated the endorsement of the MCC. So, I think the US is ready to work with the new government. In a way, it is an assessment visit from the US side. America seems confident that the US-Nepal bilateral relationship will move ahead under Dahal’s leadership. The prime minister and other leaders should convey their clear message that Nepal wants to stay away from the US-China geostrategic rivalry and wants to engage with all powers on economic terms. From our side, we have to be frank and candid about our priorities.