Submit your Article

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and mutual interests, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat informed.

The Japanese foreign minister arrived in Kathmandu on a one-day visit this afternoon at the cordial invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

Prior to meeting the Prime Minister, she observed the Basantapur area of Kathmandu.

She spent about half-an hour there, seeing around Kalbhairab, Hanumandhoka and the Nepali cultural heritages and artifacts. She also bought a Buddha statue.

This is Kamikawa's first visit to Nepal after her appointment as Japan's Foreign Affairs Minister.

She will pay a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel today itself, the Foreign Ministry said.  

The Japanese foreign minister is scheduled to meet the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shrestha today itself. Minister Shrestha will host a dinner in her honor.

Foreign Minister Kamikawa will leave for Japan tonight via Nepal Airlines plane.

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Rastriya Swatantra Party President and Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane held an intensive discussion on Saturday.

During the meeting that lasted around three hours, the three leaders discussed contemporary political issues and budget sessions, a Baluwatar source said.

President Ram Chandra Paudel on the recommendation of the government has called the meeting of both the houses of federal Parliament on Friday afternoon.

Earlier, the government had prorogued the winter session to prepare the budget.

Actually, the government had prorogued the Parliament session after the main opposition Nepali Congress obstructed the House proceedings demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee to investigate fraud charges against Home Minister Lamichhane.

The Congress has said that it would not give up its stance of forming a parliamentary probe committee to investigate cooperative fraud charges against Minister Lamichhane.

The three leaders also discussed this issue in the meeting held last night.

As the cooperative fraud case is becoming complex day by day, the situation may also come to form the parliamentary probe committee as demanded by the Nepali Congress, Prime Minister Dahal said.

They have also reached a conclusion that the government should take an initiative to resolve the cooperative issues.

The government is preparing to bring a special plan to iron out the cooperative problems that have been becoming a serious problem across the country.

The leaders of the three political parties have agreed to inform the Parliament by forming a committee to investigate the irregularities in the cooperatives.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lamichhane has also agreed to form a parliamentary probe committee to investigate the cooperative scam, the Baluwatar source said.

Earlier, Home Minister Lamichhane had held a separate meeting with UML Chairman Oli.

Later, Oli and Prime Minister Dahal had discussed the cooperative issues in Baluwatar.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the government is sensitive to the citizens' health and working accordingly.

In his address to a program organized to mark the 22nd Establishment Day of the National Academy of Health Sciences (NAMS) here today, the Prime Minister said implementation of the citizens' fundamental rights is the special priority of the government.

"It is the responsibility of the State to promote the implementation of the fundamental rights of each citizen achieved through tremendous struggle and sacrifices. The government is serious about this. Social security programs in health services is also the top priority of the government," he said.

Stating that 2,800 beds in government-run health facilities have been allotted to patients from poor, indigent communities and who are helpless, the government head said provisions are in place to provide vaccines against uterine and breast cancers at a free of cost. The effort to dedicate 10 percent of all hospital beds whether they are of government, community, or private cones to indigent and helpless people carries a significant value for the improvement of citizens' rights.

He utilized the forum to call on the NAMS to facilitate in fulfilling the State's responsibility to increase citizens' access to quality healthcare services. He also pledged full support on his behalf to establish the NAMS as an academic institute of international standards in cooperation with national and foreign academic bodies.

Prime Minister Dahal shared that he has taken initiatives to make the service delivery of Bir Hospital effectives since he assumed the post.

He further said that he has given priority to bringing all the beds and operation rooms into operation, operating the services in two shifts.  In the program, Dr. LochanKarki, Rector of NAMS, requested that NAMS should not be separated from Bir Hospital immediately until its own hospital is built. “There is a debate going on about the separation of NAMS and Bir Hospital.

If these two bodies are separated immediately, it seems that there will be problems in many matters", Rector Dr. Karki said, "All the educational programs currently running at NAMS will be closed and it may also affect the services of the hospital itself. There should be a comprehensive discussion on this.” He informed that the scope of NAMS has been further expanded. Similarly, Dr. Santosh Paudel, director of Bir Hospital, drew the attention of the Prime Minister to develop Bir Hospital as a specialized hospital for quality health services in the country.

“The area of service provided by NAMS is wide but there are challenges in Bir Hospital within NAMS. The bed has not been able to operate at full capacity. Due to the lack of budget, we have not been able to manage the service delivery further smoothly and effective", said Paudel.

According to the responsibilities of the three levels of government, if we can concentrate the responsibility of specific services, we can provide more quality services. The hospital should be developed as a referral center.”

On the occasion of its 22nd foundation day, NAMS has honored the first Vice-Chancellor Dineshnath Gangol and Dr Upendra Devkota (posthumously), Dr Raviraman Neupane, Dr Niroj Banepali and Dr Mukesh Prasad Yadav.

Dr Raviraman Neupane, Dr Niroj Banepali and Dr Mukesh Prasad Yadav, who have passed out from NAMS at different times, have also been awarded.

Japan and Nepal have many things in common. One of them is that 70 to 80% of its land area is covered with mountains and hills. Considering Japan's history of constantly facing natural threats due to its steep terrain, I can fully understand, as a Japanese national, how difficult a challenge it is to undertake nation-building in a mountainous country like Nepal, Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said.

The first thing that comes to the minds of the Japanese people when we hear the word "Nepal" is the divinely majestic Himalayan Mountains represented by Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest). Having been born and raised in Shizuoka Prefecture located at the foot of Mt. Fuji, I feel a deep sense of affinity with Nepal, and I am very pleased to be able to visit Nepal for the first time today, she said.

Another thing Japan and Nepal have in common is that both countries are democratic, and Japan has provided various assistance to Nepal's democratization efforts, the Japan’s foreign minister further said.

After the abolition of the monarchy and the transition to a federal democracy was declared in 2008, Japan dispatched election observers to the parliamentary elections.

In addition, Japan has also provided support for the development of the legal system and various other assistance that contribute to the promotion of democracy in Nepal. When I served as Justice Minister, the Ministry of Justice provided training on civil code and the development of civil code commentaries in support of the preparation for a new civil code of Nepal in cooperation with JICA, Minister Kamikawa said.

Both countries also have the same unfortunate history of suffering damages due to earthquakes. That is why, whenever the other side was affected by a major earthquake, our two countries have reached out to each other like family, with special compassion and solidarity. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Nepal donated 5,000 blankets and our Nepali friends in Japan assisted in the setting up of Nepali soup kitchens as well as provision of Nepali coffee. After the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, Japan dispatched the Japan Disaster Relief Teams (Urban Search and Rescue Team, Medical Team, and Japan Self-Defense Force Units) and provided an Emergency Grant Aid of approximately 1.68 billion yen as well as Emergency Relief Goods including tents and blankets, she said.

In addition to this emergency humanitarian assistance, Japan provided a total of over 32 billion yen for "Build Back Better" after earthquakes in areas such as reconstruction of schools, residences, and public facilities.

Following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January this year, we received heartfelt messages of sympathy from Nepal. Furthermore, the Nepali people living in Japan rushed to the affected areas many times to offer their support, and with the words "Friends should help each other in tough times" they cooked spicy curry to warm and encourage the hearts and bodies of the residents there amid heavy snow and severe cold weather. As Foreign Minister of Japan, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Nepali people for their warm support and sympathy for Japan, the Japanese foreign minister said.

Japan and Nepal have also faced a scarcity of natural resources. Thus, both countries need an international community that ensures connectivity is free from force or coercion and values freedom as well as the rule of law regardless of the size of the country. To realize such an international community, it is a prerequisite that each country overcomes its vulnerabilities and builds a resilient society. With this in mind, Japan attaches great importance to Nepal will get on track for sustainable growth and stability.

Based on this idea, Japan has been supporting Nepal's development since 1969 in a wide range of fields, including infrastructure construction such as electricity, roads, airports, and water supply, as well as agriculture, education, and healthcare, with Nepal's geographical and historical background in mind.

The Nagdhunga tunnel, the breakthrough of which has recently been achieved, is Nepal's first mountain road tunnel. Once the construction of the tunnel is completed, it will contribute to the promotion of social and economic development in the region and strongly support Nepal's further development, facilitating the transportation network by meeting the rapidly increasing traffic demand, reducing travel time, and improving transportation safety. Through such assistance in infrastructure, Japan will continue its efforts to ensure that the people of Nepal can experience the safety and convenience of infrastructure in their daily lives, according to Minister Kamikawa.

In recent years, the presence of Nepal across Japan has been on the rise day by day. Over 120 years have passed since the arrival of the first eight Nepali students dispatched by the Government of Nepal in 1902. Today, our two countries are connected by direct flights that take about 7 hours. The total number of Nepalis living in Japan exceeds 170,000, the sixth largest number of foreign nationals living in Japan. I am very pleased to see that our bilateral relationship is steadily deepening thanks to the active participation of our Nepali friends in Japanese society.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to touch on cooperation with Nepal on "Women, Peace and Security" (WPS), which the Japanese government has strongly promoted in recent years and is also my life's work. WPS is based on the idea that society can be much closer to a more sustainable peace through the participation of women themselves in leadership positions in prevention as well as humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, while at the same time working to protect vulnerable groups such as women in times of crisis.

The Japanese government is strongly promoting WPS, and I have been involved in various initiatives since I became Foreign Minister. Nepal is the world's largest contributor of personnel for UN peacekeeping operations (PKO) and has the largest number of female PKO personnel in the world. As such, I believe that there is great potential for cooperation with Nepal in the field of WPS. During this visit to Nepal, I would like to explore with Nepal what kind of cooperation is possible in the future.

The year 2026 is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Nepal, and also the year of Nepal's graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. As the Foreign Minister of Japan, I would like to further strengthen our relationship with Nepal towards this commemorative year and strongly support Nepal's further development after graduation from the LDC category, she said.