Nepal Brief

Constituent Assembly fails to keep agreement deadline:

1. On September 6, the Constituent Assembly’s (CA) Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC) was supposed to resolve all constitutional issues and submit a report to the CA plenary by September 15. However, the parties were unable to reach an agreement. PDCC chairman Baburam Bhattarai submitted a report to the CA chairman, listing all issues that had been agreed to and those that were not. The next deadline is October 15. On that date, the first draft of the Constitution is supposed to be completed. The political parties, however, reiterated their commitment to take all steps possible to meet this deadline. That, however, according to political observers, seems difficult to achieve.

2. The demand of the CPN- Maoist to setup and finalize the terms of reference of the All- Party Conference to draft the constitution, had attracted a great deal of attention with the parties insisting on its constitution as a precondition for its participation in the drafting process. After protracted negotiations, the parties have now decided that the All Party Conference will begin on September 18, a day before PM Sushil Koirala leaves for New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly session.

3. However, the other demands of the CPN- Maoist have not been so easy to resolve. These include formation of a High Level Political Committee (HLPC), comprising representatives from NC, CPN- UML, and CPN-Maoist, to oversee all outstanding aspects of the peace process. The Maoist insist that they will not co-operate in the constitution- drafting process unless this HLPC is formed.

4. In the meantime, the CPN- Maoist- led 33 party bloc has agreed to raise identity – based federation as its common agenda during the national political conference but the gulf on other issues remains as wide as ever.

PM Sushil Koirala leaves for 69th UNGA on Sep 19

5. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala will be leaving for New
York on September 19 to attend the 69th Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA) which he is scheduled to address on September 26. Koirala will be accompanied by a delegation of over a dozen members. In New York, Koirala is expected to meet Indian PM Modi, the visiting Chinese leader and some other heads of state and government from the region.

6. On his way back, Koilala will attend a function organized by the Nepal Embassy in UAE, on September 20, during his stopover at Abu Dhabi. He will also address Nepali ambassadors and heads of missions based in various Gulf countries. The PM will leave for Brussels on September 28.

Government plans to establish $1 b fertilizer factory:

7. The Investment Board of Nepal has invited consultants to carry out a detailed feasibility study for establishment of $1 billion ammonia and urea fertilizer plant in Nepal. The government has earmarked a budget of Rs. 30 million to conduct the feasibility study for the proposed plant which, when operational, is expected to reduce the country’s dependence on imports and help attain self- sufficiency in soil fertilizers.

PTA between India and Nepal likely to be signed:

8. Officials at the Ministry of Energy are optimistic that the proposed Power Trade Agreement (PTA) between Nepal and India will be signed within the 45-day deadline set during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Nepal. According to Energy Secretary Rajendra Kishore Khetri, an Indian team is likely to arrive in Nepal before September 20, to sign the final accord.

Tata Motors scraps plan to set- up assembly plant:

9. Tata Motors has scrapped its plan to setup an automobile assembly plant in Nepal. Sipradi Trading- the authorized distributor of Tata vehicles in Nepal, indicated that the country’s investment climate failed to convince officials of Tata Motors. They added that the plan was scrapped due to non-availability of sufficient land, regular water and power supply and government support. The project is likely to be shifted to Indonesia.

Revenue collection of Nepali missions in China surges:

10. With the sharp rise in Chinese visitors to Nepal, revenue collection at Nepali diplomatic missions in China soared to Rs. 470 million last fiscal year, with visa fee alone contributing Rs. 330 million. Nepal has an embassy in Beijing, consulate general offices in Hong Kong and Lhasa, and a consulate in Shanghai. The consulate general of Nepal in Hong Kong was the highest contributor, collecting Rs. 231.6 million (issuing 38, 680 visas).

China provides security equipment to Nepal:

11. China has provided security equipments worth Rs. 100 million to Nepal Police for the security related work in connection with upcoming SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu on November 26- 27, 2014. The Chinese equipments include metal detectors scanners, CCTVs, luxury vehicles and other security apparatus. The equipments were formally handed over to a Nepali delegation from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

SAARC Summit preparations gains momentum:

12. Meanwhile, preparations are on for the forthcoming 18^th Summit Meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), to be held in Kathmandu on November 26-27. Nepal is hosting the summit for the third time; the earlier ones having been held in Kathmandu in 1987 and in 2002. A nine- member National Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. This will be assisted by thematic committees, other sub- committees, and a National Advisory Committee. The summit will be preceded by the thirty- sixth session of the SAARC Council of Ministers on November 25, the forty- first session of the standing committee on November 23-24 and the forty – sixth session of the programming committee on November 22, 2014. Heads of states or Governments from the eight member states – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Nepal, will be attending the meet.