Govt ready to partner with NRNA think tank: Minister Gyawali

KATHMANDU, Oct 15: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, has said that the government is ready to partner with the newly established think-tank Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) for the larger developmental interests of the nation. NPI is a newly established think tank of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

Addressing a session on 'Diaspora's Role in Development Policies of Nepal' at the 1st Non-Resident Nepalis Global Knowledge Convention in the capital on Saturday, Minister Gyawali stated that the government was ready to engage NPI in its policy discourse. He suggested to NPI to audit Nepal's existing public policies with the multi-angle perspectives based on the best practices in the world and recommend alternative policies.

Related story

UML to cooperate with Maoist Center to form new govt if the lat...

Minister Gyawali said that since the country is in the process of transformation, it is high time the government received suggestions for relevant policies to help materialize the government's goal of 'Happy Nepalis, Prosperous Nepal'.

NPI Chairperson Khagendra Dhakal, who is also coordinator of the plenary, said since the 1990s, the diaspora has been a contributing a lot to the development of both their home countries and host countries. “Discussion on its relevance in the context of Nepal is timely and relevant. Many things that were otherwise not possible to do while living away from the home country have now been possible to do while living away from motherland due to the ICT facilities,” he said.

Dhakal illustrated that China's policy to engage its diaspora lately has shifted from 'Return and Serve Motherland' to 'Serve motherland'.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chairperson of National Planning Commission (NPC) Prof Puspa Raj Kandel expressed desire of the government to collaborate with NPI in the process of formulating policies. Stating that NPC is the major government think tank, Kandel said the areas identified by NPI could be priority areas of the government as well.

NRNA's immediate past president and current patron Shesh Ghale thanked the foreign minister and NPC Vice Chair for their trust and willingness to collaborate with NPI.