KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that the government is prioritizing the implementation of instructions given from both the house of the federal parliament and the parliamentary committees.

KATHMANDU, Nov 1: Minister for Foreign Affairs N.P. Saud has said that with the political process having gained a stable course over the years, the focus for Nepal now is on the economic front. Economic dimension is, therefore, a crucial aspect of Nepal's foreign policy today.

Nonalignment or Multi-alignments

October 13, 2023 09:30 am

Nepal, in its neighborhood, is surrounded by countries with nuclear power in their arsenal: China, India, and Pakistan. These countries are so uniquely characterized that one is the arch-rival and adversary to the other, facing each other at the frontiers ready to engage in conflict at any time.

One solution could be adjusting our foreign policy based on our larger interest that incorporates remittance-sending countries, including our development partners, by replacing our non-aligned foreign policy. This policy stems from the Cold War era and needs adjustment according to the present time, context, and situation.

Chairman Oli says Nepal should have stayed neutral instead of casting vote in favor of Ukraine in the UN forums.

KATHMANDU, July 1: Foreign Minister NP Saud has emphasized the government's efforts to stabilize Nepal's fluid foreign policy and international relations.

KATHMANDU, Jan 2: Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina has said that the change seen in the country’s foreign policy immediately after the change in the government is unfortunate.

After reading the learned comments by a legal expert of eminence on a wide-ranging area of international law, Professor Dr. Surya Prasad Subedi, to our rather cursory and humble observations made on June 21 to his inaugural address for Professor Yadunath Khanal Lecture delivered on June 7, 2022 in the prestigious Myrepublica on June 30, I am in the proverbial fix of what to say or respond to. Just days after the presentation and my layman's response to his stellar address, I was greatly honored to get his very kind and friendly email on June 23, the first such contact after years, in his typically beautiful English in response to my rather casual observations. I thank the prestigious Myrepublica for including my entirely personal observations in their issue.

In a country where the top guns in politics have frequently made fake promises of making Nepal another Switzerland or Singapore, Professor Surya Prasad Subedi's addition of Austria and the Netherlands as Nepal's likely transformation spots and even Kathmandu taking the place of London as the center of international arbitration and other legal counseling is quite optimistic and futuristic, if not utopia or one more fake dream to be sold.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organizing a ‘Talk Series’ dedicated to veteran diplomat Prof Yadu Nath Khanal, the contemporary foreign policymakers are expected to be pragmatic and pursue the path shown by Prof Khanal such that Nepal can execute sensible diplomacy ahead.

To practically implement the new foreign policy, it is important to integrate it with core national interests and priorities.

Nepal must work to avoid becoming a pawn at the hands of either of its two neighbors or going against them to please any powers.

A statement issued by Chinese embassy in Nepal on February 18 over an article published by The Kathmandu Post sent Nepali media persons and social media population in reaction mode: China has no business telling what a Nepali newspaper can and cannot publish. Chinese embassy has breached the diplomatic decorum. Nepal government should raise this matter with China.

Nepal-UK defense ties

February 18, 2020 09:10 am

Nepal-Britain defense diplomacy goes back to 1744 along with Captain Kinloch’s Expedition. It stands on the foundation of faith and mutual honor

KATHMANDU, Jan 30: Minister for Information and Communications Gokul Baskota has said that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement has already come into implementation.

Making foreign policy dynamic

January 16, 2020 07:55 am

People and policies are important underpinnings of any organization. Policies are important frameworks because they contain organization’s visions. It is important, therefore, that policies are sound, realistic, time-suited and reflective of the ideals and objectives organizations stand for.

The Assassin’s False Creed

January 13, 2020 09:22 am

MOSCOW – For an armchair warrior like US President Donald Trump, who received five deferments from serving in Vietnam, assassinations must look like a foreign-policy silver bullet. You take out your enemy’s leadership with a drone strike or a rifle shot and, presto, your problems are solved. In fact, there is no historical basis for believing that assassinations solve anything. But there are plenty of precedents that they make things far, far worse.

Why Morals Matter in Foreign Policy

January 12, 2020 08:15 am

CAMBRIDGE – When I told a friend I had just written a book on morality and foreign policy, she quipped: “It must be a very short book.” Such skepticism is common. An Internet search shows surprisingly few books on how US presidents’ moral views affected their foreign policies. As the eminent political theorist Michael Walzer once described American graduate training in international relations after 1945, “Moral argument was against the rules of the discipline as it was commonly practiced.”

Putin’s Pipelines to Power

January 9, 2020 08:03 am

MOSCOW – Over the last year, predictions of serious struggles for Russian President Vladimir Putin – or even his political demise – have been increasingly frequent. A recent article in The Economist, “An awful week for Vladimir Putin,” is just one example. But it is Putin biographer and New York Times correspondent Steven Lee Myers whose assessment rings most true: “Putin,” Myers has repeatedly said to me, “always wins.”

Prisoner’s dilemma

November 7, 2019 08:57 am

If Nepal ignores its next-door neighbors, the consequences may be stark. Ignoring the West may also be costly for Nepal’s development endeavors

KATHMANDU, Sept 17: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali has said that government has been conducting foreign policy keeping national interests at its center.

KATHMANDU, July 8: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has said the nation's foreign policy hinged on the cooperation of all sides and not only on government's lone efforts.

KATHMANDU, June 30: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday said that it was important for all political parties to be on the same side in matters relating to Nepal’s foreign affairs as he urged for the need of a coherent foreign policy.

Your daily dose of the missed important news of the day.

KATHMANDU, June 29: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said foreign policy should be conducted on national consensus and common understanding as it is a matter of common concern of the entire nation.

KATHMANDU, June 29: Inaugurating the national dialogue on foreign policy organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday in the capital, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli emphasized that foreign policy advocated by different political parties should be consistent with the one pursued by the government.

KATHMANDU, June 29: A national dialogue on foreign policy has kicked off in Kathmandu.

In principle, Nepal’s foreign policy is guided by the charters of United Nations, SAARC and non-alignment policy.

KATHMANDU, June 3: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is holding a National Dialogue on Foreign Policy (NDFP) on June 29 to formulate a common view on the country’s foreign policy in view of the changed political reality and priority of the country following the promulgation of the new constitution.

KATHMANDU, May 29: The decision of India to invite leaders from Bimstec member states and the chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sends a message that India’s neighborhood first policy now extends beyond South Asia, foreign policy analysts in Kathmandu say.

Looking back at 100

May 28, 2019 00:30 am

The last two decades have made clear that no post-Cold War US foreign policy consensus exists

Road to take

May 19, 2019 01:05 am

“Efforts to define national interest presuppose agreement on the nature of the country whose interests are to be defined. National interest derives from national identity. We have to know who we are before we can know what our interests are”, said Samuel P Huntington. Nepal has constitutionally defined its national interest, state policy and foreign policy whereby “safeguarding of the freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity, nationality, independence and dignity of Nepal, the rights of the Nepalese people, border security, economic wellbeing and prosperity” have been the basic elements of our national interest.

KATHMANDU, May 15: While trying to allay concerns raised from various quarters that Nepal was pushed into its Indo-Pacific strategy—a move widely seen as an attempt to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)--, a senior US State Department official has said that his country is not asking Nepal to be “for” the US or “against” any other country.

KATHMANDU, March 31: As India flexes its diplomatic muscles in both its neighborhood and beyond to 'isolate' Pakistan over the alleged support of Islamabad to terrorist elements, Nepal's conduct of 'independent' foreign policy has met with a serious 'test'.

KATHMANDU, March 8: Foreign policy experts have stressed the need to articulate a clear foreign policy taking into account the national interests. They have also outlined the need for Nepal to adopt a more pro-active approach to diplomacy and far-sighted foreign policy.

Selective memory

February 25, 2019 01:30 am

Nepal’s mainstream party leaders squirm in their seats of power and privilege when faced with a series of foreign policy successes recorded in previous decades

KATHMANDU, Feb 1: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that Nepal was committed to promoting national interests and its external engagements by promoting Nepal’s credentials as an open and progressive democratic state at the international level; and by pursuing effective economic diplomacy to contribute to development imperatives at home.

KATHMANDU, Feb 1 : Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali is scheduled to brief the international community today afternoon on various matters including the government's foreign policy priorities and country's contemporary political situation.

KATHMANDU, Jan 6: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, has spoken of the need of national dialogues to build the nations' foreign policy on the basis of mass consensus.

Drifts on foreign policy

January 3, 2019 01:30 am

Diplomacy and development have been conducted in an ad hoc manner based more on sporadic “big dream talks” than a clear framework, vision and time-bound actions

Reframing foreign policy

December 6, 2018 01:30 am

The government is constitutionally obliged to take measures to recalibrate Nepal’s foreign policy. It should bring detailed vision for this without delay

Foreign Policy after midterm election

November 29, 2018 00:30 am

The Democrats’ best bet is to let Trump take the lead on global affairs, however unsavory

Bungling on diplomacy

September 13, 2018 00:20 am

Our politicians rarely care about diplomatic protocol. They are always ready to meet any foreign guests and speak about foreign policy issues without considering long-term implications

WASHINGTON, Aug 22: The United States is “deeply disappointed” by El Salvador’s decision to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China and is reviewing its relationship with San Salvador as a result, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

TAIWAN, Aug 21: Taiwan lost another ally to Beijing on Tuesday when diplomatic ties with El Salvador were severed, as China presses the remaining nations with diplomatic links to Taipei to end them.