Pokhara to observe street festival on World Tourism Day

The Restaurant and Bar Association (REBAN) is organising a street festival on September 27 to mark the World Tourism Day at Lake Side in Pokhara.
The theme of the day is 'Tourism and Jobs, a better future for all', according to the organiser. “The festival will feature cultural performances from various ethnic groups, live music, documentary screening, and food stalls with national and international cuisine among others,” the organiser added.

Two-day commerce joint secretary-level meeting in Delhi next week

Nepali and Indian Commerce Ministry officials are scheduled to meet next week in New Delhi to discuss issues related to trade and commerce. The meeting on Thursday will also review the Nepal-India bilateral trade treaty, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
Though the meeting will not be decisive on reviewing the trade treaty, the two-day meeting will focus on simplifying the existing barriers to bilateral trade. The two-day meeting will dwell on ways to address Nepal’s ballooning trade deficit with India and introduce and amend provisions in the trade treaty to ease bilateral trade, the ministry claimed, adding that adding that Nepal’s priority will be to simplify country’s trade with India by addressing tariff and non-tariff barriers. “The meeting will also finalise agendas for reviewing trade treaty, which were discussed during previous two meetings.”
This is the third time that the two countries are sitting together to discuss the review of the trade treaty. “Nepal has also urged Indian authorities to allow shipment of bulk cargo from additional entry points,” joint secretary at the ministry Navaraj Dhakal said, adding that imported bulk cargo from third countries currently can be transported only via Brigunj. “Currently, bulk cargo imported from third countries through Kolkata, Haldiya or Visakhapatnam ports can be transported only to the Birgunj border point in Nepal.”
Bulk cargo includes fertilizer, sugar, soybean, salt, oil cake and raw plastic materials. “Nepal has also urged Indian authorities to lift quantitative import restrictions on different products, including vegetable ghee and yarn,” he added.
Nepal has also been asking India to allow the use of additional sea ports. India has agreed to allow Nepal to use two other sea ports at Dhamra in Orissa and Mundra in Gujarat. Nepal seeks to use these ports as alternatives to Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.
Likewise, India has been asking Nepal to lift the 5 per cent agriculture service fee charged on imported Indian farm items but Nepal has been refusing to cancel the fee stating that it would affect the competitiveness of Nepali agricultural products.
Nepal and India are also looking forward to using inland waterways to transport cargo from Indian ports to the Nepali border. According to the ministry, India has started inland waterways from Kolkata to Varanasi along the Ganga River. India has expressed readiness to extend the routes up to the Nepal border along the Narayani River once the infrastructure is built in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.
The meeting will likely finalise the amendments planned to be made to the Treaty of Transit to streamline trade, which will be approved by the Nepal-India Intergovernmental Committee – a mechanism to solve trade-related issues between the two countries – soon.
Earlier, Commerce Ministry officials of both the countries had held review meeting on the bilateral trade treaty in New Delhi on August 9 and in Pokhara on February 7 and 8.
“The joint secretary-level meet will discuss finalising the agenda, which was sent to the second round of meetings held last March,” according to Dhakal.
Developing infrastructure at the customs points on the border between the two countries was also discussed at the last trade talks, he said, adding that India has provided 22 designated routes for bilateral trade. “India has upgraded the Birgunj-Raxaul customs checkpoint while work at the Biratnagar-Jogbani point is nearing completion, but little progress is being made in the construction of infrastructure at the Bhairahawa-Sunauli and Nepalgunj-Rupaidiha points.”
A cabinet meeting last Tuesday formed a nine-member Nepali team led by Dhakal to participate in the talks. The committee-led by joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Nabaraj Dhakal comprises representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Customs and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
The last time the treaty was revised was in 2009.

Youth leaders vow continued pressure for urgent action to address climate emergency

A day after thousands of young people marched and rallied for urgent climate action, young leaders brought their message to the United Nations (UN) for the Youth Climate Summit, the opening salvo of the three-day long UN Climate Action Summit, which will culminate on Monday.
The Youth Climate Summit – the first time the UN has convened a summit for young people completely devoted to climate action – aimed to give voice to the demands of young people to take far swifter action to reduce the emissions that, without action, are on track to reverse the development gains of the recent decades that have improved the lives of millions of people.
The Summit opened a dialogue between youth and decision makers, putting young people in the driving seat with voice and agency to realise their potential and the change they are persisting towards climate action.
Hosted by UN secretary-general António Guterres, the Youth Climate Action Summit brought youth climate champions together from more than 140 countries and territories to a platform to share their solutions on the global stage, and deliver a clear message to world leaders: we need to act now to address climate change. The outcomes of the Youth Climate Summit will feed into the Climate Action Summit, which will be attended by heads of state and government as well as business chief executive officers and civil society leaders.
Guterres, calling this generation of young people ‘essential’ in combating the climate crisis, said today’s gathering was a critical milestone ahead of Monday’s Climate Action Summit, where he has asked world leaders to come with bold, concrete plans. He credited youth for shaking up leaders’ ‘laissez-faire’ approach to climate change.
“We are not yet there,” Guterres said, adding that we are ‘still losing the race’ against climate change. “But there is a change in momentum. Largely this change in momentum was due to Greta Thunberg’s initiative, and to the courage with which she has started this movement.”
The Youth Climate Summit featured a full-day of programmes that brought together young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and change makers committed to combating climate change at the pace and scale needed to meet the climate challenge.
The programme culminated in unveiling the State of Youth Platform and the ActNow platform that encourages people to take action on climate action. To close the Summit, the UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed took part in a Town Hall with the participants and high-level representatives from governments and civil society.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN secretary-general’s Envoy on Youth, said, “Climate change is the defining issue of our time.”
Global emissions are increasing, temperatures are rising and the impacts of climate change are growing. Climate change is already affecting the lives of all people, but for the 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years, the issue is felt with far more urgency as it will shape their lives in ways never witnessed before. For the younger generation, the need for urgent climate action has never been clearer.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the world is now experiencing the warmest five-year period on record. The average global temperature for 2015–2019 is on track to be the warmest of any equivalent period on record and is currently estimated to be 1.1°Celsius above pre-industrial times. Widespread and long-lasting heatwaves, record-breaking fires and other devastating events such as tropical cyclones, floods and drought have had major impacts on socio-economic development and the environment.
Sea ice and ice mass continue to decrease, sea-level rise is accelerating, and sea water is becoming more acid. Food insecurity and health impacts are growing. But the world is continuing to invest in fossil fuels.
Jayathma Wickramanayake emphasised that climate action must be fair and just. “We have to ensure that no one, especially young people, is left behind,” she said, adding that the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a blueprint for the world to achieve sustainable development by 2030. “Climate action (SDG 13) is crucial to achieve this.”

Police arrest former BoK chief executive Shrestha on charge of banking offence

Police arrested former chief executive officer of Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) Ajaya Shrestha and ten others on the charge of banking offence. The CIB has also arrested debtor Surendra Shrestha, confirmed CIB spokesperson Bel Bahadur Pandey.
Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) under Nepal Police arrested former chief executive officer Shrestha, bank staffers Kiran Bohara, Richa Shrestha, Sushma Shah, Pushparaj Bhandari, Bikram Panta and among others – from various places on different dates recently – for alleged banking offence.
The bank officials are accused of issuing a bank loan of worth Rs 45 million to the debtors based on the forged documents produced by debtors, he said, adding that the bank officials are accused of facilitating the illegal transaction to purchase land in Kathmandu. 
The aforementioned individuals were arrested, according to the Pandey.
Of the detainees, two are former staffers of the bank, while three are incumbent staffers, the CIB informed, adding that the preliminary investigation has revealed that the debtors created fake land registration certificates to avail the loan from Bank of Kathmandu. “Later on, the debtors produced it as collateral to acquire the loan.”
The bankers have but shown serious concern on Shrestha's arrest as Shrestha is known as a gentleman banker among his fraternity.

Successful digital women entrepreneurs at UN assembly

Five successful women entrepreneurs, who have broken new digital ground and created wealth and employment in various developing countries will be unveiled on the margins of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
They will join world leaders as they review the progress made in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNCTAD will announce the first ‘eTrade for Women Advocates’, seven ‘super’ women – all digital entrepreneurs – who have been selected by the UN to inspire other digital women entrepreneurs and help ensure that women have a seat and voice at the policy making table for a more inclusive local, regional and global digital economy.
Five of the seven advocates – hailing from China, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, North Macedonia and Rwanda – will be introduced to the world, on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The ‘eTrade for Women Advocates’ will be in New York from September 23 to 26 to provide insights on how women digital entrepreneurs are a formidable force for inclusive wealth creation and development.
The five, who will be in New York are founder and chief executive of Rogrand Xiaofei Yao from China, founder and chief executive of Quickcash Patricia Zoundi Yao from Côte d'Ivoire, founder and chief executive of Javara Helianti Hilman from Indonesia, co-founder and chief operating officer of Kichink Claudia de Heredia from Mexico, and North Macedonia’s minister of finance and co-founder of Grouper.mk Nina Angelovska. The other two are founder and chief executive of Takhfifan Nazanin Daneshvar from Iran and founder and chief executive of DMM.HeHe Clarisse Iribagiza from Rwanda, according to a press note issued by the UN.
Drawing on their groundbreaking work in e-commerce, these advocates are helping to create the world we want by 2030 by leveraging technology to build wealth in their communities to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The ‘super seven’ pioneering cohort of women entrepreneurial business leaders will inspire and empower other women entrepreneurs in their regions and beyond to take greater advantage of the ever-expanding global digital economy.
Harnessing the positive impact of digital technology, combined with the transformative power of female entrepreneurship, is needed to accelerate wealth creation and poverty reduction in developing countries. However, this potential remains unrealized as women struggle to scale their business and to get a seat at decision-making tables.
UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women initiative enables leading female digital entrepreneurs to make their voices heard in high-level political decision-making processes. It also equips them to empower the next generation of female entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Fuel price for international airlines slashed by $50 per kiloliter

The state oil monopoly has slashed the price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by $50 per kiloliter (kl) for international carriers, according to the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).
Now, the price of the ATF for international carriers stands at $1,000 per kl, down from $1,050, according to NOC spokesperson Birendra Goit, who said that the price of the ATF for international carriers has been lowered to help in making the Visit Nepal Year 2020 a success.
The NOC brought the price of ATF down as the tourism and international airlines companies complained that the jet fuel price is too high in Nepal, distracting the tourists, he said, adding that international airlines have long been complaining that the price of the ATF is very high in Nepal which has not only been a factor of high airfare but also discouraging to add more flights.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) was also urging the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to lower the price of the ATF in line with the demands of the international airlines and tourism entrepreneurs. But the international airlines companies say that the reduction in the price is very low.
According to Goit, the NOC has been using the profit earned from the high ATF price to subsidise the losses that it incurs in other petroleum products.
Likewise, the NOC has also lowered the retail price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs 25 per cylinder yesterday to Rs 1,325 to be effective from today midnight. “The NOC decided to revise down the price of LPG yesterday and brought into effect from today midnight,” he said, adding that the price of the LPG is, however, lowered only for the Kathmandu valley.
According to a press note issued by the NOC, it has decided to lower the price of the LPG – popularly known as cooking gas widely used by households in Nepal – after it got the revised the rate from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the sole supplier of petroleum products to Nepal.
Earlier on September 11, the NOC has reduced the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 2 per liter coinciding with the formal launch of the India-Nepal cross border petroleum pipeline from Motihari to Amlekhgunj.

Foreign exchange reserves drops for the first time in 10 years

On one hand the remittance inflow has started slowing down and on the other foreign exchange (Forex) reserves has also declined – for the first time in 10 years – squeezing the country’s capacity to import goods and services to 7.8 months.
In the fiscal year 2015-16, even during the blockade, the country had foreign exchange reserves sufficient to import goods for 14.1 months. But the reserve had shrunk to Rs 1039.91 billion – in the fiscal year 2018-19 – just enough to import goods for 7.8 months, though the forex reserve to sustain imports for at least six months is adequate for a country like Nepal. But the increasing imports has made Nepal more vulnerable as it has to maintain the forex reserve to sustain the imports of 10 months, according to the economists.
The decline in forex reserve could also deter foreign investment as investors seek assurances of profit repatriation.
The drop in the forex reserve also signals capital flight in the recent months as the business confidence has seen a low due to various reasons including the government policy like adopting the reference price at the customs. The reference price is updated every six months but the global commodity market is very dynamic as the prices keep changing every hour. Taking advantage of the government’s policy of reference price at the customs, some of the traders are suspected of sending money out of the country, according to a trader, who also claimed that it is happening in the complete knowledge of the government, “otherwise there is no point in implementing age-old reference price.” 
According to foreign exchange management department at the central bank, the Monetary Policy for the current fiscal year has also targeted to maintain foreign exchange reserves for seven months of imports.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) – in February – has asked Nepal not to allow foreign exchange reserve to decline below import levels of five months. “In the last two decades, Nepal has always had reserves for over five months of imports,” according to the IMF.
But the reserves declined in absolute terms last fiscal year for the first time in 10 years. The last time forex reserves had declined was in the fiscal year 2009-10, by seven per cent.
The government is planning to discourage the imports of luxury goods to check the bulging imports so that the forex reserve could be maintained. The government, through the budget for the current fiscal year, has announced to discourage the import of unnecessary luxury and hazardous goods and services.
The government has also presented a bill at Parliament on safeguards, antidumping and countervailing to reduce unnecessary imports to bring the increasing trade deficit into control.
The central bank has also tightened rules for vehicle purchases last November making it mandatory for a borrower to make a down payment of half the price, reduced the foreign exchange availability against passports to $1,500 from $2,500 for a single trip, and foreign exchange availability for migrant workers to $200 per person from $500.
But the Visit Nepal Year 2020 and the reopening of Malaysia for Nepali migrant workers could bring more foreign currency into the country to give respite to the forex reserves.