Policy and Program of the Government of Nepal
For Fiscal Year 2065/066 (BS)
I am extremely delighted to present before this
august Legislature-Parliament of the Constituent
Assembly in my capacity as the first elected
President of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Nepal the Policy and Program for F/Y 2065-66 of
the first elected national coalition Government
constituted in accordance with the peoples'
mandate expressed through the recently held
Constituent Assembly election.
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The Governemnt of Nepal
announces Budget for the
Fiscal Year 2065/2066 (2008/09) Link:
http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/speech/2008_1/index.php
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Recent Political
Developments in Nepal
Formation of the
Constituent Assembly
The people of Nepal exercised, for the first
time in history, their most important
fundamental right on April 10, 2008 in electing
a 601-member Constituent Assembly mandated to
write a new constitution for the country. The
election was held in a free and peaceful manner
and the voters’ turnout was high. Out of 601
members, direct election was held for 240
constituencies under the first-past-post system,
335 were elected under proportional system based
on popular votes secured by each contesting
political party (considering Nepal as a single
constituency) and the remaining 26 have been
appointed by the Prime Minister based on
political consensus and understanding among the
political parties in the Assembly. However, the
Assembly has currently 594 members (elections to
fulfill five seats vacated by the winners are
yet to be held and one member nominated under
political consensus has not yet taken the oath
of office).
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Recent Activities of the
Embassy
Nepal Event on the theme
“From Oceania to Everest: Strengthening
Nepal-Australia Linkages”, Sydney, June 27, 2008
The Embassy organized the
above event composed of three distinct aspects:
an interaction on key issues of economic
diplomacy, a cultural programme and a dinner
with typical Nepali menu. Promotion of Nepal’s
image and identification of opportunities to
advance Nepal’s national interest formed the key
objective of the event.
Mr. Leela Mani Paudyal,
Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism
and Civil Aviation was the key speaker in the
interaction programme. He made a comprehensive
slide presentation on the various aspects of
Nepal’s tourism industry, covering both policy
measures and promotional activities.
The Ambassador underlined
the importance of giving the utmost priority to
such key issues as trade, tourism, investment,
employment and education to uplift
Nepal-Australia relations to a new, higher level
in the changed political milieu.
A team of senior officials from the Snowy
Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC) made a
slide presentation on West Seti Hydro-power
project and its importance in bringing economic
transformation in Nepal. They were of the view
that the success of the project would serve as a
benchmark for Nepal’s efforts to attract foreign
investment.
The interaction programme
was an important initiative undertaken by the
Embassy since its establishment last year in
bringing together key figures from across the
broad spectrum of trade, tourism, airlines,
travel, investment, finance, banking and
education to explore opportunities for
cooperation between the two countries in the
identified priority areas of economic diplomacy.
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Nepal Info Nite June 29,
2008, Melbourne
The Embassy of Nepal in Canberra, in association
with the Consulate of Nepal in Victoria and the
Nepal Tourism Board, organized an Info Nepal
Nite on June 29, 2008 in Melbourne. During the
programme, Send Home A Friend (SHAF) programme
was formally launched amidst a special gathering
of the members of the Nepalese community and the
friends and well-wishers of Nepal in Melbourne.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Mr.
Yogendra Dhakal stressed the need to expand the
scope and enrich the substance of
Nepal-Australia relations by exploring
opportunities for cooperation between the two
countries on such important matters as trade,
tourism, employment, education, and foreign
investment
Mr. Leela Mani Paudyal, Secretary in the
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
of Nepal underlined that, despite negative
travel advisory in certain quarters, Nepal
remains a safe and attractive destination and
has the potential to become an-all seasons
tourism destination in view of incredible
geographical, topographical, linguistic,
religious, cultural and ethnic diversities as
well as the existence of a large number of world
cultural heritage sites.
Mr. Aditya Baral, Director of Nepal Tourism
Board, highlighted the importance of the Send
Home A Friend campaign initiated by the
Government of Nepal and called upon the Nepalese
community to make this campaign a success in
bringing a larger numbers of tourists into
Nepal.
This was followed by a dinner with typical
Nepali menu in the Gurkhas Brasseries in
Melbourne.
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Opening of Consulate
in Victoria
Following the appointment
of Mr. Chandra Yonzon as Nepal’s new Honorary
Consul in Victoria, the Ambassador of Nepal to
Australia formally inaugurated the Consulate
office on 29th June 2008 in Melbourne in the
presence of a good number of audiences,
representing both the members of the Nepalese
community and Nepal’s friends and well-wishers
in Victoria.
The Ambassador expressed
the hope that the new Consulate will be able to
promote Nepal’s interest as well as that of the
Nepalese community in Victoria. The newly
appointed Honorary Consul Mr. Yonzon expressed a
sincere gratitude to the Government of Nepal for
having reposed trust in him and for giving him
an opportunity to serve Nepal as well as the
Nepalese community in Victoria.
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Nepal Festival Sydney,
13th September 2008
The Nepal Festival 2008
Sydney, jointly organized by the Embassy of
Nepal, Non-Resident Nepalese Association and the
various organizations/associations of the
Nepalese community in Sydney at the famous
tourist spot, Darling Harbour, was a grand
success. The Festival was the biggest ever
gathering of the Nepalese community and local
Australians with over 20 thousand people
attending the event.
The local artists,
representing all regions of the country,
genuinely reflected the theme of the Festival
“Celebrating Unity and Harmony in Diversity”, on
action through a variety of cultural items-
dances, music, songs, and fashion show. These
together with the live concert by the popular
AXE-Band from Nepal helped enliven the
environment throughout the day. A rich
combination of the Nepalese food, handicrafts
and information booths managed by various
agencies also remained center of attractions of
the day. The Embassy and the NRN provided
information on Nepal and distributed tourism
related promotional materials to the visitors.
Ms. Gabi Hollows,
Founding Director of the Fred Hollows
Foundation, which has been supporting the
Tilganga Hospital from the beginning in
blindness treatment, officially opened the
Festival by lighting the traditional lamp, the
Panas.
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Nepal Festival Melbourne, 7th September 2008
The Embassy of Nepal, the
Nepalese Consulate in Victoria and NRN Australia
jointly organized Nepal Festival 2008 under the
theme "Celebrating Unity and Harmony in
Diversity" at the prestigious venue of the
Federation Square at the heart of Melbourne city
on Sunday, 7 September 2008. This was the first
time that the Nepal festival was organized in
Melbourne.
Representing the Premier of Victoria, the Chief
Guest Hon’ble Ms Jenny Mikakos MP, Parliamentary
Secretary for Planning and Member for Northern
Metropolitan Region inaugurated the festival by
lighting the traditional lamp, ‘Panas’ amidst
thousands of Nepalese and the local Australians.
In line with the theme of the Festival, local
Nepalese artists from Melbourne and Sydney
performed several ethnic Nepalese dances. The
Grace and Fire team performed classical fusion
music and the popular Nepalese funk-rock band
The Axe performed live concert.
There were food, handicrafts and information
stalls. Over 6000 people visited the event. The
main items of the festival such as music, songs,
dances as well as tourism and culture related
slides were displayed in the Federation Square
Display Monitor that also helped to attract a
large local crowd.
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Formal Inauguration of
the Embassy of Nepal in Canberra
Acting Foreign Secretary of Nepal Mr. Gyan
Chandra Acharya formally inaugurated the newly
established Embassy of Nepal in Canberra amidst
a special ceremony on Wednesday, 19th September
2007. Senator Marise Ann Payne, Chair, Senate
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Trade of the Australian Parliament
represented the Australian Government on the
occasion. To mark the occasion the national flag
of Nepal was hoisted at the International Flag
Display where it is flying since the event
together with flags of other countries
represented in Canberra. The unique shape of the
Nepalese flag was a matter of great attraction
among the invitees. The national anthem of Nepal
and Australia were played during the flag
hoisting.
Acting Foreign Secretary Mr. Acharya and Senator
Marise made statements on behalf of the
Government of Nepal and the Australian
Government respectively. In their statements,
both sides expressed the commitment to further
expanding and consolidating relations between
the two countries. It was highlighted that
Nepal’s diplomatic presence in Canberra would
contribute towards this objective. The Senator
welcomed political change in Nepal and expressed
her hope that constituently assembly election in
Nepal would contribute to consolidate peace,
stability and prosperity in Nepal. She also
appreciated Nepal’s diplomatic presence in
Canberra and reiterated Australian Government’s
assistance to Nepal’s development efforts.
Chief of Protocol Ms. Lyndall McLean conducted
the ceremony.
Charge’d’ Affaires a.i. in the Embassy and Mrs.
Shanker Bairagi hosted a reception to mark the
formal opening of the Embassy.
Members of Parliament, senior officials in the
Australian Government, Ambassadors, High
Commissioners and other representatives of the
diplomatic corps, former ambassadors of
Australia to Nepal, journalists, representatives
of the Nepalese community organizations in
Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Nepalese Honorary
Consuls General and Consul from four states in
Australia, Nepalese students, Chair and members
of the various foundations working for Nepal,
friends of Nepal, and the Nepalese living in
Australia were present on the occasion.