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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funded projects have paved the way for new opportunities in areas of economic cooperation between Nepal and the US.

He also expressed his hopes of enhancing trade connectivity for Nepal throughout Asia, and that the effective implementation of the compact’s projects would contribute significantly to Nepal's economic development and poverty reduction. He appreciated the US Government for continued cooperation and assistance.  Speaking at a program to celebrate the launch of the MCC-Nepal compact, PM Dahal and senior leaders expressed their full-commitment to expedite the implementation of MCC projects.

The five-year program was launched on 30 Aug 2023, with an Entry into Force (EIF) letter exchange between Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and MCC Vice-president-Compact Operations Cameron Alford. The project will have to be completed within the next four years and six months.   

EIF is an important milestone for MCC compacts as it marks the fulfillment of necessary conditions and sufficient preparations to ensure successful completion of compact projects within a five-year timeline. Minister Mahat expressed his belief that the MCC Nepal Compact’s projects will support Nepal’s growth and benefit the people of Nepal through better roads and more reliable electricity.

In her remarks, MCC CEO Albright said: “We worked with the Government of Nepal to set ambitious goals with this program in order to achieve great things with the people of Nepal. We stand ready to be a steadfast partner and have full confidence in the leadership of the Government of Nepal and their implementing agency, MCA-Nepal.”

“We are ready to face the inevitable challenges together and deliver a successful program,” US Ambassador Dean R Thompson added that “the MCC-Nepal Compact is another in a long line of important US initiatives supporting economic growth for the Nepali people and marks yet another significant milestone in the 76-year long friendship between Nepal and the United States.”

During her three-day visit, MCC CEO Albright met with key government officials and stakeholders in the implementation of the Compact, attended a tree-planting ceremony to emphasize the importance MCC places on environmental protection and climate preservation, and observed ongoing work with the Department of Roads in training engineers to use climate-smart, sustainable technology to create a safer transportation network that is easier to maintain and better for the environment.  

Highlighting the Compact’s aim to foster inclusive economic growth for the people of Nepal, MCC CEO Albright also met with women executives who shared with her their experiences, work, and hopes for a more prosperous Nepal.

The GoN and MCC signed the MCC Nepal Compact on 14 Sept 2017 for two projects, the Electricity Transmission Project and the Road Maintenance Project, which will result in more reliable electricity and more cost-effective transportation in Nepal.

Alice Albright, chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, is confident that two vital projects—a transmission line’s construction and road upgrades—under MCC Nepal Compact will be completed within the five-year deadline. Initiated in August, just four years and 11 months remain to meet this goal.  

In an exclusive conversation with a select group of journalists, Albright highlighted that the top leaders of Nepal’s three major political parties—CPN (Maoist Center), Nepali Congress, and CPN-UML—stand firmly in favor of these projects’ execution. After meetings with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, she said that she received their unequivocal commitment to removing any obstacles that might hinder the progress of these projects. 

During the press conference, senior officials from MCA-Nepal reported that they have not encountered any major challenges in the field during the project’s implementation.

Highlights

• Investment $500m from the United Nations and $197 from Nepal
• Electricity transmission project: Up to 66 percent Nepal homes and businesses will gain better access to clean Nepali hydropower
• Road maintenance project: Up to 130 km cost-effective, safer, climate sustainable roads along national highways
• Introduction of innovative, sustainable full depth reclamation and superpave asphalt technology for road maintenance

The joint press statement issued after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s China visit contains elements that can drag Nepal into the geopolitical rivalry between China and US, experts have warned. They fear that the statement may even give rise to questions over Nepal’s long-standing policy of non-alignment.

It is obvious that Nepal does not want to get caught in the US-China rivalry. But Clause 6 of the statement reads, “Recognizing that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal Government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Nepali side is against ‘Taiwan independence’.”

Though not explicitly mentioned in the document, parts of GCI and GSI have been incorporated in the press statement.  In the past, Nepal used to reaffirm its commitment to one-China policy without further elaboration. The document explicitly states that Nepali side is against Taiwanese independence. The document further says that Nepali Nepali side reiterated its firm commitment to the one-China principle.

Geopolitical analyst Vijay Kanta Karna argues that it is wrong to mention “principle” instead of “policy” in the joint statement. “How will Nepal apply this principle in other areas?” he questions, describing the use of the word “principle” instead of “policy” in the document as ‘very concerning and disturbing’.

According to Karna, Nepal has been consistently expressing commitment to “one-China policy” in the official document without much talk about Taiwan. Now, however, Nepal itself has gotten involved in this issue, he observes, “Nepal has become a part of international geopolitics between America and China unnecessarily, This is an unwarranted statement.”

This policy is different from the policy that the erstwhile Sher Bahadur Deuba government had adopted. When US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 visit to Taiwan caused tensions, Nepal just said it was closely following the developments and reiterated its commitment to one-China policy, despite pressure from the Chinese side to side with it on the issue of Taiwan. The statement shows Nepal is trying to align with China’s national security, Karna says.

Foreign policy expert Gopal Khanal agrees that there was no need for Nepal to mention Taiwan in the joint statement because our one-China policy covers all issues. As there was no progress on BRI, Dahal agreed to such a language to appease the Chinese, Khanal says: Such acts may put us in a difficult situation.

On Global Security Initiatives (GSI) and Global Civilizational Initiative (GCI), China expected Nepal to support and welcome the initiatives. According to the officials, this was mentioned in the first draft of the statement, only to be omitted after the Nepali side did not agree. Nepal has welcomed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) with two projects under it already implemented in the country.

“China supports Nepal’s independent choice of social system and development path that suits its national conditions,” the joint statement reads further, in a marked departure from the past. 

PM Dahal’s China visit has failed to make remarkable progress on development cooperation and it was heavily focused on security issues. Per the statement, the two sides agreed to expedite the ratification of the China-Nepal Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, though the matter is sub-judice in Nepal’s Supreme Court.

The reasons behind the inclusion of terms like ‘social system’ and ‘development path’ in the joint statement aren’t clear, either. According to analyst Karna, ‘social system’ is a part of GCI and Nepal’s development path has already been determined in Nepal’s Constitution and there are no questions over it in Nepal. Experts fear that such carelessness on the part of the PM may affect Nepal’s principled position of not engaging in great power confrontations and sticking to the policy of non-alignment.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has left for Bajhang on Friday to inspect the quake-affected areas.

Prime Minister Dahal left for western Nepal on a Nepal Army chopper this morning, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to inspect the quake-affected areas and hold a meeting with the District Disaster Management Committee.

The executive head of the state said that the process of distributing relief materials to the Bajhang quake victims soon.

During a meeting of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council held in Singha Durbar on Thursday, Prime Minister Dahal said that the process of distributing relief materials to the quake victims and reconstructing the damaged structures will be taken ahead.

Gunamati Dhami (40) of Jayaprithvi Municipality-11, Okhal had lost his life to the earthquake on Tuesday.

Police said that the quake caused damage to 135 houses in the district.

Two earthquakes measuring 5.3 and 6.3 on the Richter scale respectively jolted Bajhang district on Tuesday afternoon.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati today claimed that Nepal would soon be removed from the security list of the European Union.

In today's meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee (IRTC) of the House of Representatives, the minister expressed his hope that Nepal would be removed from the EU's security list soon as the EU's technical team conducted an audit of Nepal's air security system.

"Nepali airlines will soon be removed from the EU security list. The EU team conducted the audit from September 11 to 15. The bill related to the division of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has reached the Council of Ministers with the consent of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs," he said. The EU technical team had conducted an 'onside audit', said the CAAN.

The European Commission under the EU has blacklisted Nepali airlines since 2013, showing serious aviation safety concerns.

Nepali airlines were put in the Significant Security Concerns list of the International Civil Aviation Organization before being removed in 2017.

Minister Kirati expressed his hope that Nepal would be removed from the EU's blacklist as it increased the aviation security rate lately.

He said that the Nepal Airlines Corporation has been able to pay off the debt of Rs 4 billion since the national flag carrier has been earning profits lately. There are challenges as the NAC's grounded Y-12 aircraft cannot be operated, there is also a problem in renting it out but parking fees and insurance should be paid, he said. 

The IRTC President Raj Kishor Yadav stressed the need for the Committee to do the needful to improve the current weak situation of the NAC.

He called for the Committee to form a subcommittee and do the appropriate work for the long-term interests of the NAC after identifying and resolving problems that weakened the NAC.

The Committee should investigate and study the matter, if need be, he said.

The meeting discussed the bill made to amend the National Archives Preservation Act, 2046 BS.