Submit your Article

China has said that it is ready to work with the new government in Kathmandu to advance the China-Nepal Strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity, and to deliver more benefits to the people of the two countries.

On March 8, four parties– CPN(Maoist), CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Janata Samajbadi Party- formed a new left government. Speaking in a regular press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Mao Ning said: China noted that Nepal has formed a new government coalition and reshuffled the cabinet recently. We sincerely hope that relevant parties of Nepal will work together in solidarity, advance the work related to the formation of the new government in a smooth manner, and realize political stability, economic growth and improvement of people’s livelihood.”

She further said that  as a friendly neighbor and cooperation partner, China highly values its relations with Nepal. We would like to work with the new government to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, deepen our traditional friendship, and strengthen practical cooperation. China has become the first country to make an official comment about the formation of a new alliance in Kathmandu. For the long time, China is motivating Nepal’s communist parties to form an alliance and government. China prefers a communist government in Kathmandu in order to fulfill its interests.  

Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud is scheduled to address the Raisina dialogue set to take place in New Delhi, India, on Feb 21-23. This a premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community. The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

Every year, leaders in politics, business, media, and civil society converge in New Delhi to discuss the state of the world and explore opportunities for cooperation on a wide range of contemporary matters, ORF said. The dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials, who are joined by thought leaders from the private sector, media and academia.

Swarnim Wagle, economist and lawmaker, will also address the dialogue. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will inaugurate the conference on Wednesday. 

This is the ninth edition of the Raisina dialogue, organized by the MEA-ORF since 2016. Previous editions have had keynote addresses by leaders of Denmark, Rwanda, Israel, the European Commission, Italy, and others.

The international peacekeeping exercise started on Tuesday with the initiation of ‘Exercise Shanti Prayas-IV.’ The exercise is taking place at the Birendra Peace Operation Training Center (BPOTC) in Panchkhal, Kavre district, and will continue until March 4. The inaugural session was held at the Nepal Army headquarters on Tuesday.

This exercise is a collaborative undertaking between the Nepali Army and the United States government’s Global Peace Operation Initiative (GPOI). The GPOI focuses on promoting excellence in the proficiency of peacekeeping forces, improving mutual coordination capabilities, and ensuring interoperability among Troops Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the United Nations.

The ongoing event marks the fourth iteration of the Nepal-hosted Exercise Shanti Prayas, with the inaugural exercise conducted in 2000. Subsequent editions occurred in 2013 and 2017. This year’s exercise features the participation of military personnel from 19 nations, including Nepal.

The primary objective of this exercise is to enhance the skills and interoperability among troops from countries contributing to United Nations peacekeeping missions, according to the Nepali Army.

A total of 1,125 participants will engage in various events, including 689 individuals in Field Training Events (FTE), 110 in Staff Training Events (STE) and 326 in Critical Enabler and Capability Enhancement (2CE) activities. “The exercise aims not only to address challenges encountered in peacekeeping efforts but also to increase awareness among participating nations about the challenges,” the Army said.

During the opening ceremony of the exercise, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal highlighted that Nepal’s engagement in UN peace operations has consistently been a crucial component of its foreign policy, aimed at achieving and strengthening global peace and stability, garnering commendation from the global community.

Expressing immense pride, he emphasized Nepal’s current status as the leading contributor of troops and police personnel to United Nations Peacekeeping missions. “Nepal has further pledged to deploy up to ten thousand well-trained and equipped personnel for UN Peace operations on request of the United Nations,” he said.

Affirming Nepal’s unwavering advocacy for peace and equality in international forums, the Prime Minister stated that these commitments are deeply rooted in the country's pursuit of global peace and harmony. “This is further manifested through our participation in the UN peace operations, where our peacekeepers have distinctly demonstrated bravery, compassion, and selflessness in their noble mission to protect and restore hope in regions torn apart by conflict.”

In the current global landscape, peacekeepers confront heightened and diverse threats arising from the complex and multi-layered nature of conflicts, driven by factors such as ethnic tensions and terrorism. Dahal stressed the imperative to adapt to this evolving scenario, as peacekeeping operations have transformed into complex politico-military-humanitarian efforts. This transformation necessitates a greater understanding and preparedness on the part of peacekeepers. He emphasized the crucial need to reassess how peace is delivered in the face of new and complex challenges to maintain the trust and legitimacy of UN Peacekeeping.

He also said that the multinational exercise emphasizes and reminds us of the necessity to continually train, refine strategies, and build strong partnerships among nations for the successful conduct of peacekeeping operations.

The Chief of Army Staff Prabhuram Sharma, while speaking at the program said that the exercise will be fruitful in promoting mutual relations and professionalism among the peacekeepers when working to establish peace in various conflict areas of the world in accordance with the mandate of the UN.

DAS Rachel Schiller, deputy assistant secretary for Programs and Operations, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said, “The United States remains deeply committed to the success of UN peacekeeping, which is why we are not only the largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, but we are also the largest bilateral capacity building partner globally through the Global Peace Operations Initiative through which we have committed over $1.5bn since 2005, to enhance the capacity of partner countries to prepare, deploy and sustain peacekeepers in UN and regional peacekeeping missions.”

Flag Display, Fly Past, Band Display and cultural programs of the participating countries were presented in the event. Soldiers from Bangladesh, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay, United States of America, Australia, Canada, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam are participating in the exercise.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, Chief Secretary Baikunth Aryal, former Commanders-in-Chief, secretaries of various ministries, Ambassadors, Commissioners, Chiefs of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force and military aides among others were present in the inaugural event.

Nepal became a member of the United Nations in 1955 and since 1958, Nepal has been actively engaged in the broader spectrum of UN Peace Operations. Over the course of over sic and half decade, Nepal has participated in 44 UN peacekeeping missions and during this period, 167,000 Nepali peacekeepers have contributed to these missions and among them, the NA personnel number 149,890.

Kathmandu: Nepal has requested Russia not to recruit Nepali youths in the Russian Army.

Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud made this request in the meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Vershinin, on the margins of the 19th NAM Summit that took place in Uganda.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says: "Foreign minister raised the issues related to Nepali nationals in the Russian Army, including the request not to recruit Nepali nationals, release those who are already recruited, repatriation of mortal remains of the deceased and compensation.”

The Russian deputy minister stated that efforts will be made to resolve the issues raised by the Nepali side.  There are no bilateral provisions on recruitment in the Russian forces, but reports suggest that Nepalis are serving alongside the Russians and fighters from several other countries lured by certain ‘incentives’.

Moscow has not responded to Nepal’s repeated requests for information about the Nepalis in the Russian army, though the government has said that hundreds of Nepalis have been serving the Russians, more than 100 have gone missing and 11 Nepalis have died in the war so far.

According to Saud, 115 families of Nepali youths, who have joined the Russian army, have submitted a request to the ministry calling for their early repatriation. We have asked Russia to repatriate the Nepalis serving its army and compensate the families of those killed in action, he said.