Nepal

• Germany welcomes Nepalefforts for investment climate with a pledge to step up cooperation

Kathmandu, July 17

Nepal and Germany have signed joint declaration of intent on the Establishment of Bilateral Consultation Mechanism whereby joint political consultations between the two foreign ministries will be held annually.

Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ghanashyam Bhandari and visiting Commissioner for South Asia at German Federal Foreign Office, Markus Potzel signed the document on behalf of their respective governments yesterday.

&The consultations will be complementary to the bi-annual consultations on development cooperation led by the Nepali Ministry of Finance and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development,& Potzel said at a joint press conference organised at German Embassy in Kathmandu today.

Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi welcomed Potzel to the first joint political consultation between the two foreign ministries, yesterday. On the occasion, Bairagi recalled his visit to Berlin in summer 2018, where he was received by Vice Minister Niels Annen at the German Foreign Office.

The two sides stressed the need for intensifying trade and foreign direct investment linkages, and they welcomed efforts to promote the German private sectorinterest in investments in Nepal.

The German side welcomed efforts to foster an open investment climate in Nepal and pledged support for its ongoing reform measures. Both sides underlined the need for speedy decisions on concrete economic engagements. Germany also pledged support to promote Nepaltourism sector not only in the context of its Visit Nepal-2020 campaign but also in the long-run. The two sides also reviewed the international and regional situation. They agreed on the need to foster rule-based multilateralism and regional cooperation.

&The two sides acknowledged climate change as one of the most serious existential threats to humanity and agreed to promote collaboration, both at bilateral and multilateral levels,& said Potzel.

With regards to both countries& membership in the UN Human Rights Council, the Germany appreciated Nepalprogress in guaranteeing basic human rights as enshrined in the 2015 constitution. The German side also appreciated Nepalunique and home-grown peace process and expressed hope that remaining works would be concluded soon.

&We appreciate the justice ministryefforts to conduct broad consultations for amending transitional justice laws,& said Potzel.

The two sides underlined significance of exchanging high-level visits in further cementing friendly ties and promoting collaborative partnerships in the areas of mutual benefits. The two sides were also looking forward to the visit of Vice-minister of German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development Norbert Barthle, to Kathmandu in October.

The two sides also welcomed the signing of a 24.3 million Euros financial agreement on July 5, which will serve to upgrade maternal care facilities in Kathmandu valley, the provision of solar energy in remote areas, as well as establishment of specific credit lines for start-up enterprises in semi-urban and rural areas. Germany also pledged additional four million Euros for technical cooperation to further upgrade the use of solar energy in order to tackle the challenges of climate change and energy security in Nepal.

The two sides also welcomed the imminent conclusion of an agreement which will allow diplomats& spouses to take on gainful employment in the host country while the family is posted there.

The two sides also welcomed the prospects for an upcoming cooperation between the University of Hamburg (Germany), and two institutions in Nepal for the preservation of the oldest surviving Sanskrit manuscripts, according to a joint press release.

Potzel, who was on a two-day visit to Nepal from July 16 to 17, said his visit aimed at upgrading relations between Germany and Nepal.

During the visit, Potzel called on Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota.

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Kathmandu, July 17

Nepal Police has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tribhuvan University for institutional collaboration under community-police partnership programme.

Prof Tirtharaj Khaniya and Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal inked the deal on behalf of the TU and Nepal Police, respectively at an event organised in Kathmandu today. According to Nepal Police, the agreement with the TU was reached to benefit from the expertise of the academic institution towards prevention and control of crimes.

As per the agreement, the TU and Nepal Police will cooperate with each other to maintain law and order in the society, community and at educational institutions. The agreement between the two institutions includes cooperation in curriculum development, study and research; exchange of information, resource persons and volunteers; capacity enhancement, information technology development, practical exercises, internships, e-library and exposure visits.

Speaking at the function, Prof Khaniya said the TU was ready to facilitate Nepal Police towards maintaining law and order in society. &Institutional partnership between the TU and Nepal Police will make the service delivery of the concerned organisations more effective and productive,& he said. Prof Khaniya informed that the TU would soon form a team for the implementation of different areas of mutual cooperation as set forth in the agreement.

&Though the TU has long working experience of partnership with various international organisations, it is the first time that we have signed an agreement with a national level agency. Exchange of expertise between the academic sector and the security agency will benefit both,& he said.

IGP Khanal said signing of the agreement with the TU was an achievement for the security agency. &We will work for the implementation of the agreement without any delay. Nepal Police looks forward to utilising the expertise of academic sector in security and crime related issues through study and research activities,& he said.

All the 753 local levels have already signed a MoU with Nepal Police to control crime, raise public awareness against criminal activities and enhance security of the society.

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Kathmandu, July 17

The government has introduced a new rule to provide justifiable compensation to the people or community for the adverse impacts on their health and lifestyle due to environmental pollution caused by development projects.

National Environment Policy 2019, recently endorsed by the Parliament, has envisioned compensation for people under the concept of environmental justice. As of now, all kinds of organisations, people or development projects have been penalised only for environmental pollution, sometimes resulting in the revocation of their licenses.

It also stated that development projects should prioritise development and environment integration while preparing Environment Impact Assessment report for any development projects. &After getting approval, the EIA report will be made transparent,& it stated.

It also stipulated a provision for concerned bodies to allocate budget to mitigate the impacts of environmental degradation before the execution of projects.

The policy categorised types of pollution as water, air, soil, sound, electro-magnetic waves, chemical and radio frequency. It stated that stringent rules would be enforced to reduce all types of pollution. But, it did not clearly state measures to be taken to reduce pollution.

Quality monitoring centres in pollution-prone areas and water testing system will be established around the industrial areas. Waste source apportionment, landfill sites, hazardous waste landfill sites and incineration plants, and combined incineration plants will be built, according to the policy.

The policy, however, did not mention issues of climate change. The Supreme Court on July 2, had released a full text of its order directing the government to formulate an act to address the effects of climate change.

The constitution of Nepal has guaranteed peopleright to live in healthy environment.

According to Environment Statistics of Nepal-2019, ninety per cent of industries which produce toxic wastage have been operating without proper waste management system. Some 89.3 per cent of industries lacked solid waste management facilities.

Areas with heavy traffic, commercial-cum-residential areas and industrial areas inside Kathmandu valley exceeded the limit of noise pollution set by the World Health Organisation.

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