Nepal seeks to turn geography into strategic advantage, foreign minister says

NEW YORK: Nepal must turn its position between India and China into an economic, digital and strategic advantage rather than allow geography to constrain its ambitions, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said today.
Speaking at an Asia Society event - in the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) - in New York titled ‘Steering Nepal’s Future in Asia’s Rising Century,’ Khanal said Nepal should move beyond its traditional image as a small country and position itself as a bridge connecting Asian economies, markets and civilisations.
“Nepal is not small but is strategically located,” Khanal said, adding that the size of its neighbours should not become a limit to Nepal’s ambitions.
Khanal said Asia’s rise, with about 60 per cent of the world’s population and a large share of global economic activity, presented an important opportunity for Nepal. South Asia alone has a population of about two billion, he said, adding that Kathmandu could become a centre of the region’s economic and social transformation. "Our question is no longer how Nepal can survive between two large neighbours. Our question is how Nepal can create value between them and beyond them."
Nepal’s strategy should be based on what Khanal called “developmental autonomy”, with a national goal of becoming a middle-income country within 10 years and a high-income developed country by 2050.
He said Nepal would seek to expand its economic and diplomatic policy space through broader international engagement while deepening ties with India, China and other major partners.
With India, Nepal should connect its open border more closely with production and markets, Khanal said, advocating “thick connectivity and thin borders” through greater economic interdependence.
Nepal should also use its hydropower potential to support regional economic integration, he said. Clean electricity is already being exported to Bangladesh through India, while border economic zones could help connect Nepali production to global supply chains.
With China, Nepal should pursue long-term cooperation in roads, tunnels, dry ports, aviation, digital networks and cross-border railways, he said. “Connectivity should not be measured only by kilometres of infrastructure, but by the movement of goods, services, investment, tourists and opportunities."
He also called for greater Nepal-China cooperation on glacier monitoring, disaster early-warning systems, water data sharing, climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure. Such projects, he said, should be based on transparent financing, rigorous feasibility studies and value for money.
Khanal also placed climate change among Nepal’s strategic foreign-policy priorities following the devastating floods that struck the country on August 26.
He described the disaster as a “Himalayan tsunami” and said it had caused major damage to lives, property, trade routes, bridges and Himalayan settlements.
The disaster underscored the need for effective early-warning systems, water-data sharing, predictable grant-based climate finance and practical cooperation with neighbouring countries and international partners, he said.
Beyond its immediate neighbourhood, Nepal plans to expand partnerships with the United States, Europe, Japan, ASEAN and Gulf countries, Khanal said, describing Nepal’s roughly five million-strong diaspora as a strategic asset. "Its capital and expertise should be channelled into entrepreneurship, technology and national infrastructure rather than being viewed primarily as a source of remittances."
“We want to directly mobilise their capital and expertise in entrepreneurship, technology and national infrastructure,” he said.
Khanal said small and medium-sized countries also have a role in protecting international law, sovereign equality and a rules-based international order. “Nepal was a bridge between civilisations in the past, is an economic bridge in the present, and will become a strategic bridge in the future."
While Nepal’s future must ultimately be shaped by its own people, international partnerships would be essential to achieving its development goals, Khanal said, inviting investment and cooperation from the United States, Europe, ASEAN, Latin America and other partners.

Countries in WHO South-East Asia region sign declaration to fight Covid-19

 All member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region today resolved to collectively fight Covid-19 and strengthen the Region’s response with better equipped health systems to deliver essential health services during the pandemic.

"The spread of Covid-19 has impacted almost every community, overwhelmed health systems and disrupted economies and livelihoods with effects reaching far beyond the health sector,” WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that it has also disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable. “WHO recently surveyed countries to understand better the priorities in the South East Asia region.” 

At the top of the agenda is maintaining essential health services. Signing the Declaration on ‘Collective Response to Covid-19’ along with ministers of Health and representatives of member countries, regional director of WHO South-East Asia Region Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said that people’s ordinary health needs do not disappear during such extraordinary events. “Health security is not only about building capacity to prevent, prepare for and respond to acute events,” she said, adding that it must also be about building capacity to maintain essential health services for the duration of response and into the recovery.”

The Declaration was signed at the end of a ministerial round table on the second and last day of the Seventy-third Regional Committee Session, hosted by Thailand, and held virtually for the first time ever due to Covid-19 pandemic.

During the roundtable, all member countries shared their various Covid-19 response measures and efforts being made to maintain essential health services and restore those impacted due to the pandemic.

All countries agreed to the importance of universal health coverage and primary health care as a safety net for people to access quality health services - both Covid-19 and other essential services, including the most vulnerable population.  

The Declaration calls for efforts to ensure countries sustain essential health services and public health programs during public health emergencies and use the current pandemic as an opportunity to build back their health systems to be better.

The member countries agreed to allocation of adequate budgets to ensure uninterrupted services during and beyond the pandemic, while prioritising health of the people, a press note issued by the WHO reads. “Countries resolved to strengthen health information systems by leveraging digital technologies which capture timely reporting of outbreaks and sharing information for policy decision.”

With health workers playing a crucial role in the pandemic, member countries pledged to ensure occupational health, safety and wellbeing of health professionals and other related workers.

Speaking to health ministers of the 11 member states Dr Khetrapal Singh said, “Continued efforts should be made to keep health workers safe from infection and violence and to provide mental health and psychosocial support.”

The Declaration also calls for strengthening safety of patients and the people through adequate public health and social measures and access to quality personal protective devices; and strengthening occupational and environmental safety through medical waste management systems and making biomedical and systems research stronger, was also agreed upon.

The member countries agreed to continuing and expanding multi-sectoral collaboration; strengthening regional collaboration for scaling up capacities for preparedness, surveillance and rapid response, field epidemiology training, supply chain management of medicines and medical supplies, and regional stockpiling of essential health resources. They also resolved to identify gaps and strengthen core capacities as required by the International Health Regulations 2005.

All countries in the region agreed to fully engage in global discussion on equitable allocation of vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for Covid-19.

“All people, all sectors, all countries and all partners must come together to strengthen the response and build a recovery and future that is more health secure, and in which all people’s health needs are met as a precondition to achieving the sustainable development to which we strive,” added Dr Khetrapal Singh.

Covid-19 economic impact could reach $8.8 trillion globally: New ADB report

The global economy could suffer between $5.8 trillion and $8.8 trillion in losses – equivalent to 6.4 per cent to 9.7 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) – as a result of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, says a new report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today.
The report, ‘Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of Covid-19,’ finds that economic losses in Asia and the Pacific could range from $1.7 trillion under a short containment scenario of 3 months to $2.5 trillion under a long containment scenario of 6 months, with the region accounting for about 30 per cent of the overall decline in global output.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could suffer losses between $1.1 trillion and $1.6 trillion, it reads, adding that the new analysis updates findings presented in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 published on April 3, which estimated Covid-19’s global cost to range from $2.0 trillion to $4.1 trillion. “Governments around the world have been quick in responding to the impacts of the pandemic, implementing measures such as fiscal and monetary easing, increased health spending, and direct support to cover losses in incomes and revenues.”
Sustained efforts from governments focused on these measures could soften Covid-19’s economic impact by as much as 30 per cent to 40 per cent, according to the report. “This could reduce global economic losses due to the pandemic to between $4.1 trillion and $5.4 trillion.”
The analysis, which uses a Global Trade Analysis Project-computable general equilibrium model, covers 96 outbreak-affected economies with over 4 million Covid-19 cases. In addition to shocks to tourism, consumption, investment, and trade and production linkages covered in the ADO 2020 estimates, the new report includes transmission channels such as the increase in trade costs affecting mobility, tourism, and other industries; supply-side disruptions that adversely affect output and investment; and government policy responses that mitigate the effects of Covid-19’s global economic impact.
“This new analysis presents a broad picture of the very significant potential economic impact of Covid-19,” said ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “It also highlights the important role policy interventions can play to help mitigate damage to economies,” he said, adding that these findings can provide governments with a relevant policy guide as they develop and implement measures to contain and suppress the pandemic, and lessen its impacts on their economies and people. “ADB’s Covid-19 Policy Database provides detailed information on the key economic measures that ADB members are taking to combat the pandemic.”
Under the short and long containment scenarios, the report notes that border closures, travel restrictions, and lockdowns that outbreak-affected economies implemented to arrest the spread of Covid-19 will likely cut global trade by $1.7 trillion to $2.6 trillion. Global employment decline will be between 158 million and 242 million jobs, with Asia and the Pacific comprising 70 per cent of total employment losses. Labour income around the world will decline by $1.2 trillion to $1.8 trillion, 30 per cent of which will be felt by economies in the region, or between $359 billion and $550 billion.
Apart from increasing health spending and strengthening health systems, strong income and employment protection are essential to avoid a more difficult and prolonged economic recovery. Governments should manage supply chain disruptions; support and deepen e-commerce and logistics for the delivery of goods and services; and fund temporary social protection measures, unemployment subsidies, and the distribution of essential commodities – particularly food – to prevent sharper falls in consumption, the report reads. “Since the situation is rapidly evolving, ADB will update its impact assessment considering additional spillover channels as needed.”
ADB is actively supporting its members as they address the effects of Covid-19 through its $20 billion response package announced on April 13. The bank has approved a series of measures to streamline its operations for quicker and more flexible delivery of assistance.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, 49 from the region.

Nepal bags country of the year award

Nepal received the country of the year award 2019 for being recognised the Asia’s Best Nation For Mountaineering Adventures at the Top Asia Corporate Ball 2019 organised by Research House of Asia (RHA) Media in Malaysia.
Nepal received the award after being confirmed by carrying out various research surveys on Asian Countries among 5 shortlisted countries for the category of ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Mountaineering Adventures’.
The award was presented by deputy minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtar bin Wan Chik to ambassador of Nepal to Malaysia Uday Raj Panday, amidst a special ceremony at Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.
The Top 10 of Asia is an English language magazine owned and published by Research House of Asia (RHA) Media. The magazine is all about celebrating beautiful stories of successful businesses, people, and inspiring lifestyles across the entire fabric of Asian life.
Present at the occasion were ministers, members of the royal family, chief executive officers (CEOs) of reputed companies, business owners, and many more.

ADB introduces contingent disaster financing for natural disasters

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has introduced a new financing mechanism – contingent disaster financing (CDF) – to support its developing member countries in strengthening disaster preparedness and provide quick-disbursing budget support following natural disasters.
“CDF will provide a quick and flexible source of funds for developing member countries affected by disasters until funds from other sources become available,” said the director general of ADB’s Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department Tomoyuki Kimura. “It will also help promote greater preparedness and risk management in developing member countries prone to disasters.”
Asia and the Pacific is the world’s most natural disaster-prone region. Between 2014 and 2017, countries in the region suffered 55 earthquakes, 217 storms and cyclones, and 236 cases of severe flooding, affecting 650 million people and causing about 33,000 deaths, according to the United Nations.
CDF – approved today by ADB’s Board of Directors – will cover disasters triggered by natural hazards like typhoons, floods, earthquakes, droughts, and tsunamis. A key feature of CDF is that it supports essential policy reforms to strengthen disaster preparedness that are to be completed before a natural disaster occurs. Once a CDF is approved for a country, it remains active until a disaster occurs. The country can then quickly access the approved financing to help relieve fiscal constraints for urgent relief and recovery efforts and avoid disruptive reallocations from priority budget programs.
“Where necessary, CDF disbursements can be accompanied by follow-up assistance through ADB’s other emergency or regular lending instruments to support recovery and reconstruction,” said Kimura.
The new financing supports Strategy 2030’s operational priority of tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, 49 from the region.

UN Fund opens applications for Fintech Fund

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has launched an Innovation Fund in the Asia-Pacific region in a bid to empower women by promoting micro, small and medium enterprises run by them.
Selected applicants from Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Myanmar, Samoa and Vietnam will receive up to $50,000 financing including technical assistance and mentoring, the fund said today. The objective of the project is to promote innovative digital solutions to support women-led micro, small and medium enterprises, it said. 
Eligible applicants, who can apply for the fund are banks and financial institutions, payment service providers, agent banking aggregators, mobile network operators, technology providers, fast moving consumer goods, agriculture and other companies, financial technology companies, and non-governmental organisations (NGO). The applicants should outline how the project will improve access to finance and enhance operational efficiency for women-led enterprises. 
National programme coordinator at the UNCDF Saroj Nepal said that the fund aimed to increase the reach of banks and financial institutions to remote and rural areas. "Now, we can serve those left behind through digital technology,” he said, "Through this project, we will be providing financial access to women-led enterprises, especially in rural areas." 
Fund mechanism officer at the UNCDF Monisha Shrestha said that the project had an opportunity to reach all targeted markets. Likewise, co-founder and CEO of Next Venture Capital Kavi Raj Joshi said that women were more trustworthy than men in terms of repayment, and they make better use of loans compared to males.
According to the fund, 45 per cent of micro and small enterprises in Asia and the Pacific have financial constraints to begin business. There is a finance gap of over $48 billion in these countries, the fund said.
Micro and small enterprises contribute about 38 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employ more than 2.5 million people, the UNCDF said. There are more than 183,000 registered micro and small enterprises in Nepal, among which 14,300 are women-led. 
The fund started receiving applications on March 1, and the submission deadline is April 30. The applicants will be shortlisted on May 31 while the project will begin in July and end in July 2020.

Asia Pacific to welcome close to 900 million international visitor arrivals

The overall annual growth rate for international visitors into 40 Asia Pacific destinations is estimated to have been around 7.8 per cent in 2018, generating an inbound volume of around 688 million for the year, almost 50 million more foreign arrivals than in 2017.
According to the executive summary of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), ‘Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2019-2023’ released today, 40 destinations within Asia Pacific collectively are predicted to show an average growth rate of 5.5 per cent per annum between 2018 and 2023, to host close to 900 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2023.
Asia will continue its strong growth momentum with an expected annual average growth rate for foreign visitor arrivals of 6.2 per cent between 2018 and 2023, while the Pacific and the Americas follow with average growth rates of 4.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent per year respectively, over the same period.
Driven by its strong average annual growth rate, Asia will receive the bulk of the foreign arrivals between 2018 and 2023, it reads. After capturing a relative share of close to 74 per cent of foreign arrivals in 2018, the proportion into Asia is expected to increase to over 76 per cent by the end of the forecast period till 2023. The impact on the Americas and the Pacific is a slight contraction in their respective relative shares from 22.4 per cent in 2018 to just under 20 per cent in 2023 for the former, and from four per cent to 3.8 per cent for the latter, even as their respective numbers of foreign arrivals increase.
Asia will also be the strongest generator of foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific over the forecast period, improving its relative share of arrivals from 63.9 percentage points in 2018, to over 66 percentage points in 2023. Intra-regional travel flows remain important for both the Americas and Asia, with the former destination region seeing over three-quarters of its foreign arrivals originating within that region in both 2018 and 2023.
Similarly, for Asia, where intra-regional travel flows will increase in relative terms, from almost 94 per cent in 2018 to over 94 per cent by 2023.
The Pacific destination region differs, in as much as more than half of its inbound international visitor arrivals originated in Asia in 2018 with that proportion forecast to increase to around 57 per cent by 2023. Even so, the intra-regional flows from the Pacific to the Pacific remain significant at over 30 per cent in 2023.
PATA chief executive Dr Mario Hardy points out that 'Asia continues to be the engine of growth for foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific, with intra-regional flows in particular, remaining important.'
The intra-regional activity is true for the Americas as well, but less so for the Pacific which is rapidly becoming more popular with Asian markets, he said, adding, "once again, we need to be mindful of the fact that in delivering positive and memorable experiences to a rapidly changing inbound market mix, we need to maintain a service ethic and mind-set that is consistently superior and at the same time, tailored to the very different needs of an increasingly diverse range of visitors."
"In developing a service mindset, we need to ask ourselves are we preparing to welcome 898 million foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific in 2023, or should we think of that instead, as one very special visitor, 898 million times. Your perspective on that can make all the difference," Dr Hardy added.

Prosperity is growing, but not equally

Global prosperity continues to rise and is at its highest ever point, the median score has moved up the equivalent of 15 places since 2007, according to a report.
"Since 2013, some 113 countries have improved their Prosperity Score, and since last year 95 countries improved their score," according to The Legatum Prosperity Index 2018 published today.
"However, this improvement is not shared equally," it reads, adding that the gap between the largest and smallest scores has been growing steadily since 2013, and this year the gap is the largest it has ever been.
Business Environment has seen the largest one year gain at a global level, having risen in every region. The greatest 10 year gains have been in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, and one of the main drivers is an improvement in the entrepreneurial environment in these regions.
North America was the strongest region this year, and improved primarily due to improved Personal Freedom, Governance and Economic Quality. MENA experienced the largest fall, due largely to worsening Personal Freedom and Social Capital. In particular, MENA has seen worsening basic legal rights this year, due to a fall in the civil liberties indicator.
Safety and Security continues to fall globally, and in five out of seven regions. This is driven primarily by falls in the security of people’s living conditions, with the largest falls in Latin America and the Caribbean due to fewer people reporting that they could afford sufficient food and shelter.
"The number of women in national legislatures around the world has been increasing steadily over the last decade, increasing from 15 per cent representation in 2007 to 20.7 per cent in 2018," it reads.
Likewise, Asia-Pacific is the fifth most prosperous of the world’s seven regions. Prosperity in the region has grown faster than any other in 2016-17, and is now close to the world average. "Some 12 countries rose, and 12 fell," it states, adding, " The Asia-Pacific top ten has not changed since last year."
The countries within Asia-Pacific have the broadest spread of prosperity – New Zealand sits at number two and Afghanistan at 146.
The pillar that has improved the most across the region since 2007 is Business Environment, particularly in East Asian countries such as China and Indonesia. Governance across the region has also seen positive change. A notable example is legislation in India that increased the ability to challenge regulation in the legal system.
Asia-Pacific is the weakest performer of any region on the Natural Environment pillar, mainly due to air pollution and access to clean drinking water. Asia-Pacific countries occupy the bottom eight places of the Index for air quality, with China at the very bottom. 

Families are the first line of defense in the battle to prevent and manage diabetes

Families that know the signs, symptoms, risks and complications of diabetes are best positioned to prevent the disease and seek medical care to manage it. Health authorities region-wide should harness this capacity given an estimated 91 million people in the WHO South-East Asia Region live with diabetes, with around 49 million unaware of their condition. Undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes type 1 and type 2 can cause heart, kidney, nerve and eye damage, as well as premature death.
The importance families have in creating awareness of the risks of diabetes – including overweight and obesity – and in preventing and managing it, is apparent. Families provide a ready-made means to instill healthy habits that last a lifetime, dramatically reducing the risk of diabetes type 2, which accounts for the majority of diabetes cases. They can also help ensure the disease is detected and managed effectively. Doing so will avoid complications and the costs it results in for individuals, families, communities and countries.
As part of the Region’s Flagship Priority of tackling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – to which diabetes is a major contributor – Member States Region-wide can empower families to address the disease and enhance health outcomes. That should occur at the same time as increasing access to services for diabetes and other NCDs at the primary health care level, as outlined in the Colombo Declaration adopted Region-wide in 2016. There are several ways to do this.   
First, health authorities should ensure all families have access to educational resources that help them better understand diabetes. This can be done via social and behavioral change campaigns that emphasise the family unit as a first line of defense, at the same time as highlighting how they can work together to develop healthy habits and diminish the risk of diabetes.
Second – and to enable this – health authorities can work across sectors to increase the access individuals and families have to healthy environments. The creation of green spaces and outdoor gyms in urban areas, for example, can facilitate exercise and the weight management it brings. So too can policies to decrease the amount of sugar and fat in foods and enhance people’s ability to make healthier choices.
And third, all families should have access to affordable diabetes medicines, medical products and care. This starts with ensuring services at the primary level are equipped to detect the disease and that a reliable supply of medicines and medical products used to manage it are on hand. It extends to ensuring those medicines and medical products are affordable to all and are of adequate quality.
Each of the Region’s Member States are dedicated to implementing National Multisectoral Action Plans to tackle NCDs and to prevent, treat and beat diabetes, including by applying the WHO Package of essential noncommunicable disease interventions (WHO PEN) at the primary level. This is commendable. WHO will continue to support all Member States empower families to tackle diabetes head-on, and to ensure all families everywhere can do so effectively.