The conduct of economic diplomacy is regarded as an integral part of international diplomacy, and the High-level Committee for Operating and Monitoring Economic Diplomacy has decided to prepare a country-wise strategy and push it forward aggressively. [break]
The fourth meeting of the Committee held under the chairmanship of the Foreign Minister has decided to expand the ambit of Nepal´s economic diplomacy with a view to promote Nepali identity and broader national interest abroad. It has also decided to gather detail information about the potential countries with specific sale of Nepali products and incorporate them in the strategy.
A decision was also taken by the Committee to consult ambassadors, former diplomats, expert on foreign affairs and other stake holders, seek suggestion, feed-back from them within two weeks and thereby finalize the strategy. The strategy would be first of its kind and would be used as integrated document for the better functioning of economic diplomacy. Accordingly, the government has urged all concerned to furnish their views towards that end.
The meeting also directed the Chief of the recently established Economic Diplomacy and Non-Resident Nepali Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review all the activities of foreign-based Nepali missions relating to economic diplomacy, professor Bishwamvar Pyakurel, one of the members of the Committee told RSS.
He shared that the meeting chose to devise a short, medium and long-term plan in order to attain the targeted objectives of economic diplomacy, after concluding that the plans and programs operated so far were ineffective.
The meeting has also nominated two new members to the Committee- the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank and the Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Board. Prior to this, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank used to be one of the members of the Committee while the Investment Board had not come into being.
The High-level Committee has also made it mandatory for all the appointees and other diplomatic staff to be deputed in the foreign mission to undergo a rigorous orientation on economic diplomacy, said Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Chief of Economic Diplomacy and Non-Resident Nepali Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He added that the decision was taken to enhance the skills and knowledge of ambassadors and diplomatic personnel.
According to Joint Secretary Dhakal, the meeting has opted to constitute a mechanism for public-private partnership in all the Embassies of Nepal to effectively implement plans and programs of economic diplomacy with help of think-tanks, Non-Resident Nepali Associations and Chamber of Commerce and Industries of the host country.
Friday´s meeting concluded with a determination to leave no stone unturned to translate economic diplomacy into reality and to collect necessary national and international data as well as other relevant information in this regard and analyze them minutely.
Although the Nepali Embassies in 32 countries across the world have been working to promote overall national interest and attracting development aid, they have not been successful in making any remarkable progress in attaining the goals and objectives of economic diplomacy. With view to speed up their activities on economic diplomacy, the meeting also decided to constitute a mechanism that collects every detail of potential industrialists and investors.
So far, Nepal has established diplomatic relations with 138 countries in the world while Nepal enjoys trade links with 164 countries across the globe.
Though the government had made efforts to put into practice the concept of economic diplomacy with the adoption of the economic liberalization some two and a half decades ago, institutionally, the Finance Ministry allocated some fund to the Foreign Ministry only in the Fiscal Year 2067/ 68 BS. This had then given some momentum to the initiative of economic diplomacy. Since the last fiscal year, the Finance Ministry has been allocating Rs 30 million annually to implement economic diplomacy as a tool to attract potential investors.
However, cooperation of all the stakeholders would be essential to make the efforts of the Foreign Ministry meaningful and resulted-oriented, which it has started by forming a Multilateral Economic Diplomacy Division.
The objective of economic diplomacy, which is regarded an economic craftsmanship for the overall interest of the country by holding negotiations and talks with bilateral and multilateral agencies for the promotion of export, is to attract foreign investment and promote marketing of the products and services of the country in foreign countries.
Diplomatic staff in foreign countries should play a facilitating role in sharing with the potential investors of the host country the financial rules and regulations of Nepal, areas of comparative advantages and guarantee of investment and easy process of taking its returns by investors.
The goals of economic diplomacy cannot be achieved unless there is proper coordination, and understanding among line ministries and ambassadors and staff, says CNI President Narendra Kumar Basnyat. He emphasizes on focusing in expanding economic activities by ambassadors rather than political interests, in order to attain the objectives of economic diplomacy.
The ambassadors work seriously to attract investors into the country and training is needed for diplomatic staff on this, he adds.
Economic diplomacy is the need of the hour for highlighting country´s economy in bilateral, multilateral and regional level.
Nepal has potential not only in tourism and water resource, but also in export of items of comparative advantage including medicinal herbs, oil, honey, Nepali paper and their products, mushroom, tea, cardamom, coffee, betel nut, ginger, Amliso, hand woven carpet, Pashmina, garments, leather and leather goods, and handicraft material, lentil and gold and silver ornaments. And these are the goods that the staffs of economic diplomacy should be promoting in their respective duty station.
The Committee is formed under the chairmanship of the foreign minister for operating and monitoring economic diplomacy while the 25 -member Committee comprises Secretaries of Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Energy, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Labor and Employment and the National Planning Commission (NPC).
The Committee also comprises Chiefs of Nepal Rastra Bank, FNCCI, CNI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, NRN Association, NTB, Trade and Export Promotion Centre, Nepal Foreign Employment Association, Institute of Foreign Affairs, European Commerce Association, Nepal Bankers´ Association as members. RSS
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