Nepal’s Foreign Policy Without Direction

At a time when international affairs are in turmoil, Nepal’s foreign policy is without vision, let alone any sense of direction.

In the first instance, this is because our netas [or so-called leaders] are inherently uneducated, inexperienced, corrupt and hapless – which leads to general hopelessness. The prime minister styles himself as ‘Prachanda’ – the awesome one – but he is no ‘Great Helmsman’. Second, directly following from the above, the general situation of the country is dire.

The netas are not capable of administering the country in a modern way, let alone providing good governance.

They are too damn busy making hay while the sun shines!

Third, compounding the flaws and weaknesses from the above two, the country is just not capable of confronting the various international crises and natural catastrophes. As a result, the people at the helm of affairs [ regrettably they are mostly men of advanced age ] are only capable of reacting to international affairs, especially crises, not initiating. Consequently, the country finds itself between the devil and the deep blue sea!

Dahal Goes to New York Don’t expect any breakthroughs for Nepal at the Big Apple.

The time spent by Dahal and his jumbo delegation is just too short to make any impact. By the way, why are there so many members in the delegation? Have they been rewarded with this foreign trip to see the sights in U.S.A. and perhaps later in Europe on the way back home, and also do some shopping with their hard-earned dollars and euros?

The government has not released any information on Nepal’s participation at the G 77 plus China meeting at Havana, Cuba.

However, judging by the prior information, nothing substantial can be expected from this and the UNGA – as far as Nepal’s vital interests are concerned.

It is again – very regrettably – a question of missed opportunities.

• Nepal could have prioritized the plight of ‘least developed’ and ‘land-locked’ countries;

• As the still chair by default of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) it could have attempted to resuscitate the moribund organization;

• As the second largest contributor of troops to UN Peace Keeping Operations, Nepal could have played a more forceful role. For instance, the Nepalese delegation could have done its homework back home [it did not even meet collectively to chalk out diplomatic tactics and strategy] and floated the idea of an Ukrainian peace initiative by suggesting:

1. An immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities;

2. Insertion of UN Peace Keeping Forces between the warring parties;

3. The gradual withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory; UN troops to enter and administer these;

4. Referendums in the four occupied and disputed regions: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporzhzhia and Crimea under UN auspices.

Dahal in the Middle Kingdom

Because of lack of preparation, the wouldbe Great Helmsman will also not achieve much in China.

As a strategic geopolitical neighbour aspiring to be nonaligned between:

• India & China

• The sworn enemies India and Pakistan

• The world-wide strategic rivals United States & China, one would expect that Xi Jinpin [head of state & head of government] would take some time off to meet Dahal [after all, head of government]. But let’s wait and see. For all intents and purposes, Dahal has already missed the boat for playing a dynamic role for Nepal being a bridge between the two great civilizations of Asia as suggested by King Gyanendra. Similarly, King Gyanendra also missed a golden opportunity to save the centuries-old monarchy [for which the country is in dire need today] by not playing the China card!

The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@

hotmail.com