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Last month, the High Level For­eign Policy Review Task Force submitted its recommendations to the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The government has not yet made the report pub­lic; however, it has elicited enough curiosity and debate on how Nepal’s foreign policy should be driven and what its priorities should be as the country adopts a federal structure. Nepal’s location is a strategic asset rather than a liability. The ‘Strategic Vision’ must reformulate Nepal’s geostrategic and geo-economic pri­orities. This can only come from a coherent ‘National Security Strat­egy’. But Nepal has not only failed to formulate it, it has also not reori­ented itself to a changing global power structure.Neighborhood First

Nepal should adopt ‘Neighbor­hood First’ as a foreign-policy prior­ity. Media reports suggest the Task Force recommended the same. While the rhetoric of ‘special rela­tions with India’, popularly used by democratic parties, has drawn criti­cism for favoring one neighbor, the ‘Policy of Equidistance’ advocated by the left parties is not compatible with Nepal’s geopolitical realities either. In such a situation, the pol­icy of ‘neighborhood first’ can be apt, whereby Nepal can embrace a ‘balanced’ foreign policy to serve its national interest.

Nepal enjoys excellent historical, political and socio-cultural bonds with India. At the same time, Chi­na’s economic might presents an opportunity for Nepal to pursue rapid economic development. How­ever, the two neighbors—India and China—are hostile to each other and their prime concern—security—over­laps in Nepal. In such a situation, it is a herculean task for the tiny Himalayan nation to balance them. The best Nepal can do is address their genuine security concerns, assuring them that Nepal would not be used against them and asking them to refrain from interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs. Nepal should reaffirm that a stable Nepal is also in their interest, as only a stable neighbor can properly address their concerns.

This is where a powerful National Security Advisor becomes impera­tive. The government should imme­diately set up a strong National Security Advisory Board led by the National Security Advisor that over­sees strategic issues and advises the prime minister on all matters relat­ing to internal and external threats.

Nepal’s second foreign-policy priority should be its “extended neighbors”, the countries with which it has strong economic ties and those where a large number of Nepali migrants work, such as the South East Asian and Gulf countries. ‘Extended neighbors’ can include SAARC countries other than India. Similarly, “Great Powers” and other friendly countries could be Nepal’s third foreign-policy priority.

Challenges

Two major challenges are the diffi­culty in formulating and implement­ing a coherent foreign policy in a fragmented and unstable political setting characterized by a poverty of strategic thinking, and dealing with a fluid and rapidly evolving regional context with shrinking space for an autonomous approach.

Similarly, foreign aid management would be another challenge. The new federal structure will also add to the complexities as the aid to the local level will have to be channeled through Kathmandu. To speed up the country’s economic growth, the government should give special con­cessions to sectors like hydropower and infrastructure.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is going to be an important pillar of Chinese foreign policy for the next decade. It is yet to be seen how Nepal deals with the BRI with­out displeasing the southern neigh­bor. Nepal should assure India that Nepal’s engagement with China is purely for its economic interest and that it is not party to China’s plan of ‘encircling India’, unlike what India perceives. Moreover, Nepal can also express interest in the freedom cor­ridor/quadrilateral that India, Japan, the US and Australia have initiated.

Other important areas to deal with are terrorism, climate change, disarmament, traffick­ing of drugs, women and chil­dren. Climate change is a pressing issue and countries like Nepal are particularly vulnerable. Apart from these, Nepal has made remarkable contribution to the UN Peacekeep­ing operations, which has improved Nepal’s international image. Simi­larly, a Hindu pilgrimage circuit, a Buddhist circuit and Gorkha Regi­ments can be effective soft power tools. Surprisingly, Nepal has failed to make good use of its soft power.

Way ahead

There is a dire need to reorient Nepal’s foreign policy with the changing global power structure, keeping all four aspects—political, economic, security and institu­tion-building—into consideration. The political parties should reach a basic consensus and formulate a coherent foreign policy. Nepal can’t be stable and prosperous without a comprehensive security framework. Nepal also needs to pay urgent attention to institu­tion-building. Each ministry should invest in research and development. The foreign ministry should estab­lish well-funded research institutes. The Institute of Foreign Affairs is in a pathetic state. Honing of diplomatic and negotiation skills is a must for Nepal’s young diplomats. All these are important steps for the democ­ratization of Nepal’s foreign policy.

BY Dr PRAMOD JAISWAL

The author is editor of the new book “Revisiting Nepal’s Foreign Pol­icy in Contemporary Global Power Structure” published from New Delhi

Province 6, which has recently been named Karnali Province, will soon be directly linked by air with Kathmandu. There will be direct flights between Kathmandu and the provincial capital Surkhet from early next month. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), the national flag carrier, and Buddha Air, a private carrier, have agreed to fly between Kathmandu and Surkhet start­ing April 4. The two carriers reached an agreement to this effect with the federal ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation last week.

Currently, there is no direct air service from the capital to any district of Karnali Prov­ince. As a result, travelers from that province have to use the airport in Nepalgunj, the cap­ital of Province 5. For about six months in 2013, Buddha Air used to fly between Kath­mandu and Surkhet, but it had to terminate the service after incurring heavy losses. Many passengers preferred to fly into or out of Nepalgunj (instead of Surkhet) as it was cheaper. The airline compa­nies have now agreed to adjust ticket prices.

The resumption of flights between Kathmandu and Surkhet is also expected to bring more tourists to Karnali.  

BY LALIT B. BUDA | SURKHET

Children of mid-western Nepal are becoming socially aware and active. On March 12, local children were successful in stopping the underage marriage of 14-year-old Bimala Biswokarma and 17-year-old Sandesh Biswokarma, both from the district of Jajarkot. “When we learned of the planned wedding, we contacted local police, as well as women’s organizations and social activists to stop it,” says Sumitra BK, who is herself a student activ­ist. The parents of the to-be bride and groom were persuaded to postpone the marriage until both of them turn 20.

Local children and adolescents have been active in a campaign against child marriage after taking part in an orientation program on the issue organized by two local NGOs.

The initiative is timely. Says Sakuntala Acha­rya, a female supervisor at the Jajarkot Women and Children Office, 74 percent adolescents in the district get married before the age of 19.

Raju BK, 16, and Sapana BK, 15, from Sanibheri rural municipality of West Rukum (also in mid-western hills) got married on March 10. (Both names have been changed.) But their marriage did not last more than a day. Child activists, with the help of the local police, were able to persuade the parents to get the marriage consummated only after the bride and the groom reach 20. These are not isolated cases. As many as five underage marriages have been stopped in Rukum in the month Feb-Mar alone—all with the initia­tive of local students. All underage couples were later handed over to their parents. Sub-inspector Gagan Singh Thakuri gives full credit to young students.

He believes that children have become increasingly aware of the ills of underage mar­riage. “It’s illegal to get married under the age of 20. When children get wind of an underage marriage plan, they inform us, even though their parents try to hush things up,” he says.

Ram Prasad KC, child protection officer at the Rukumeli Society Development Center, which has been facilitating the campaign against child marriage, corroborates the view. “The chil­dren’s initiative has led to a visible decline in the number of child marriage,” he says.  

By Rajendra Karki/Mahesh KC | Jajarkot/Musikot

All kinds of questions are being asked about Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s upcoming trip to India (April 6-8), in what will be his first foreign visit after assuming office. If he is determined to maintain a balance between India and China, as he has consistently done in recent times, why is he blindly following the ritual of a Nepali prime min­ister always making New Delhi his first foreign stop? Why couldn’t he make a strong statement by, for instance, going to China first? Is he afraid of India? Or does it indicate that mending frayed ties with New Delhi will be his top foreign policy priority? “I have a feeling that Oli’s India trip is a bluff,” says Khadga KC, head of the Tribhuvan University’s Masters in Interna­tional Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) program. “I think PM Oli wants to gain India’s confidence to the extent that he can then freely pursue his pet agenda—enhancing Nepal’s relations with China.”

KC makes an interesting suggestion. “The best-case sce­nario would be for the prime minister to first fly to New Delhi and from there directly go to Beijing,” he says. “In fact, if you follow interna­tional relations, you will see that foreign leaders routinely make such back-to-back visits to two rival countries to show that these leaders value both equally.” Such smart diplo­macy, KC reckons, would place PM Oli in good stead with Nepal’s two neighbors, whether or not he is bluffing India right now.

Indra Adhikari, deputy executive director at the Institute of Foreign Affairs, has a slightly different reading. “Whether we like it or not, the depth of relations between Nepal and India is incomparable to Nepal’s relations with any other country, including China,” she says. “I think by making New Delhi his first foreign stop, the prime minister is acknowledging this indubitable fact and doing what is in the national interest.”

That is how it should be, says Adhikari, as “India’s per­ception towards Nepal has also changed markedly since the time of the blockade.” There is no need to provoke India unnecessarily, she adds, when we have repeatedly paid the high costs of doing so.

Those close to Prime Minister Oli say the visit will focus on economic issues and steer well clear of any contentious polit­ical ones, as this is a ‘confidence-building’ trip. We may have to wait for PM Oli’s subsequent visit to Beijing, whenever that happens, to find out who is bluffing whom.