A bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by Representative Ami Bera, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s (HFAC) Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, was in Nepal earlier this week. The four-member delegation that included Representative George Holding, Member of the House Ways & Means Committee; Staff Director at the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation Nikole Burroughs and Senior Professional Staff Member at HFAC Sajit Gandhi held meetings with government officials, civil society leaders, staff at the US Embassy, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation among others. On the sideline of their visit to Nepal, Nagarik Daily’s Guna Raj Luitel and Republica’s Kosh Raj Koirala talked to Ami Bera to learn more about US foreign policy on Nepal, latest controversies about the MCC and other issues pertaining to the Nepal-US relations. Excerpts:

Daraz Nepal is a company fully owned by Alibaba Group and runs e-commerce platform to provide wide-range of products under a single roof. After undergoing a massive app redesign in 2018, and further developments in 2019, Daraz said that it has witnessed huge growth. Daraz had a number of campaigns in 2019. In an interview with Republica, Jashisha Gupta, chief financial officer of Daraz Nepal, explains about e-commerce business in Nepal, Daraz's business model and legal provisions, among other issues.

MS Group has spread its wings since its inception as a trading house catering to commodity trading in the private sector. It has now ventured into manufacturing and the service sector. The group has been successful in operating an international hotel brand, Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott and plans to further expand in the country to serve a wide range of customers.

Nepal-UK relations go back to centuries and the UK remains Nepal’s one of the largest donors and development partners. At the same time, the British Gurkhas have often expressed grievances against the UK government over pension issue. Why does the issue remain unresolved? How will the UK support Nepal in its federalization process and Visit Nepal 2020? How is the UK watching Nepali politics, including the issue of transitional justice process? Nicola Pollitt, British Ambassador to Nepal, shared her perspectives with Republica’s Subhash Ghimire and Mahabir Paudyal on a range of issues.

Kosh Raj Koirala talked to Director for Asia and Oceania in the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Thierry Mathou, who was in Kathmandu last week to hold political consultations with Nepali leaders and sign the MoU.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri is returning home from Kathmandu next week, and he will be retiring from Indian Foreign Service as well.  Puri was largely seen as an important figure in helping improve Nepal-India ties.

December 18 is marked as International Migrants Day every year. Although both domestic and international migrations have been taking place for ages, they have started drawing increasing attention in the world in recent years. As this is mixed with elements of unforeseeability, emergency and complexity and a number of challenges and difficulties, there is growing recognition among all stakeholders that all cross-border migration require enhance cooperation and collective action among countries and the region.

Raj Brewery Pvt Ltd, part of the Jawalakhel Group of Industries, is planning to launch Budweiser beer in Nepal. Udit Mediratta, marketing director of AB InBev South Asia, is coordinating with Jawalakhel Group of Industries to launch the popular international brand in Nepal.

TATA Motors is one of the fastest growing car brands in Nepal. TATA Motors started commercial business in Nepal in 1982. Sipradi Trading Pvt Ltd (STPL) is the sole distributor of TATA Motors in Nepal. Sujeeta Pradhan of Republica talked with Girish Wagh, the President of Commercial Vehicle Business Unit of TATA Motors Limited.

ILAM, Nov 25: Suryodaya Municipality of Ilam is one the biggest towns in the eastern hilly region. The municipality with 56,691 populations is also known as one of the best tourist destinations in the region. It boasts of thrilling locations like Antudanda, Kanyam, Pashupatinagar and Fikkal. Republica recently caught up with its mayor, Rana Bahadur Rai and discussed its march towards prosperity and development.