With China, and now India, seeing setbacks in civil liberties, the Asia-Pacific was already not in good shape. Now, a new global survey shows that democracy in the region declined even further in the past year. <a href="https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/global-state-democracy-2023-new-checks-and-balances" target="_blank">The Global State of Democracy 2023: The New Checks and Balances</a> by the Stockholm-based thinktank <a href="https://www.idea.int/" target="_blank">International IDEA</a> says the most worrying trend in the world is of democratic backsliding and the erosion of constitutional freedoms.&nbsp; “Asia democracies, and aspiring democratisers in the more authoritarian states, still face challenges in revitalising institutions and in preventing further democratic decline,” said Seema Shah, Head of International IDEA's Democracy Assessment Unit during the <a href="https://www.idea.int/events/asia-and-pacific-launch-global-state-democracy-2023?fbclid=IwAR3UY-1y1sT0srM1YdDLY8VS7Q_DoPCKP24jCtH8dULBv4_u98XbDik5WZk" target="_blank">Asia-Pacific launch of the 2023 report in Bangkok on 23 November</a>. Although across the board democratic decline witnessed by countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the past decade appears to have tapered off, the report says that the freedom of press score for the region is now at 2001 levels. Most countries in the region remain below the global average for representation, rule of law and human rights. Aside from entrenched authoritarian regimes like Laos, China and Vietnam, there have been steep declines in democracy indices in Burma and Afghanistan due to conflict and state collapse. However, even countries with higher democracy rankings like like Australia, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, India and Taiwan saw significant declines in press freedom. The report singles out Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal and Thailand as making progress in democratic participation with high turnout in recent elections, which were mostly free and fair.&nbsp; The report does not rank countries by just regime type or one value for quality of democracy, but relies on IDEA’s Democracy Tracker to monitor four core categories of democratic performance: public participation, representative government, respect for human rights and rule of law.&nbsp; Indeed, while democracy is notoriously difficult to quantify and rank, the categories do a better job in monitoring change. For example, representation is an aggregate measure of the credibility of the electoral process, and how free, fair, inclusive they are, give us a good idea of the quality of democracy in that country.&nbsp; A high participation score tells us how involved citizens are in exercising democracy during and between elections. Rule of law rankings are indicators of judicial independence and fairness, and human rights indices measure respect for civil liberties and social equality. The report gives Nepal higher marks in political participation in 2022, with the country ranked 69th out of 173 states — up four points compared to the previous year, and among the better performers among Asian countries. For comparison, India ranks 83rd, and it has fallen 17 points from its 2017 score.&nbsp; Even so, rising up the country rankings does not necessarily mean Nepal did better in the past year — it could just mean that other countries in the region faced larger declines in democracy indicators. On representation, too, Nepal is 61st, up 18 points since 2017. On human rights, Nepal is ranked 71st, and climbed 3 three points from the previous year. However, for rule of law Nepal is 94th among countries, having fallen 21 points since 2017.&nbsp; The IDEA report notes that Nepal has seen a five-year decline in effective Parliament, which was dissolved by Prime Minister K P Oli due to a power struggle in 2021 and reinstated by the Supreme Court. ‘Political coalitions have continued to be unstable since the November 2022 elections … and the primary political opposition appeared more interested in replacing the governing coalition partners than providing parliamentary oversight,’ the report’s summary for Nepal concludes.&nbsp; The survey has taken note of the erosion of civil liberties and press freedom in neighbouring India, where opposition party leaders have been harassed in the courts and the media. Amnesty International was forced to close its office in 2020 after its accounts were frozen, and raided the offices of the BBC and other media outlets.&nbsp; In India, Nepal and other countries the report cites ‘countervailing institutions’ defending against democratic decay by checking concentration of executive power through the court system, civil society activism, anti-corruption agencies, and the media. There was also community mobilisation for voting, as happened in this year’s elections in Thailand. It is clear from the example of Nepal and other politically unstable countries that an over-reliance on the court system can undermine or even destabilise the executive or legislature. Anti-corruption bureaus can be misused for political witch-hunts, and civil society can be as politically polarised as the parties. In the Pacific and South Asia, global and regional geopolitical rivalries also exert external pressure on democracies. In this respect, countries like Nepal that had to traditionally balance off two giant neighbours (India, China) now also have to factor in the United States. Debt repayment and development assistance are often used as carrots and sticks by world powers to influence domestic politics. The only way developing countries like Nepal can deal with this would be by strengthening domestic accountability and regional cooperation as a stabilising and democratic counterweight.&nbsp; Moontae Jeong in Bangkok  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231127091124_25c36184a2ce580d14356dd7912439f840c044877f72a2a5a038bc3b9c5dd457.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231127091124_25c36184a2ce580d14356dd7912439f840c044877f72a2a5a038bc3b9c5dd457" data-rendition-name="original" width="1194" height="1596" loading="lazy" alt="State of Democracy"> </figure>  <a href="https://cdn.sanity.io/files/2e5hi812/production/f7b6fb692e1475af3927aff774dbc93f50771ba9.pdf" target="_blank">The Global State of Democracy 2023</a> International IDEA Stockholm 2023 <a href="http://www.idea.int/" target="_blank">www.idea.int</a>

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Stemming Asia’s democratic decay

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02729c7e80680e0a367fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="876" height="1058"/>The course of Sino-Nepal relations is likely to enter a new historical phase in the aftermath of the US exit from Afghanistan, and the signing of the ‘Aukus’ security pact this week between Australia, the UK and the US.The associated decline in the importance of global terrorism is a defining feature of international politics. But there is also a sharper emphasis on great power rivalry, primarily in the context of China’s expanding role globally, specifically in Eurasia.The United States has now determined the Indo-Pacific as its core area of interest in this new period. How and to what extent the fundamentals of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632014551153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYFNNMAwSTBk1VdyCh78lb24goRg">Sino-Nepal relations </a>will be impacted by this structural change in geopolitics is yet to be determined.Neither the lessons of the Cold War nor the period of globalisation that followed, will serve as an infallible basis upon which to extrapolate about the future contours of bilateral relations between Nepal and China.What is now emerging as the principal fault line in international politics after the Global War on Terror is the question of hegemony in Asia. Is the US  prepared to tolerate a potential peer competitor that gains increasing primacy in Asia, and steadily erodes its options and maneuverability in Asia, including in capitals like Kathmandu?The vociferous and cacophonous debates in Nepal concerning the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632014551153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFO1kQV8lbkjpb9vutFjmcxBu5jJA">MCC,</a> for instance, should be understood within this broader framework instead of deferring to an intellectually convenient position of arguing that bilateral relations (whether<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632014551153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYFNNMAwSTBk1VdyCh78lb24goRg"> Sino-Nepal, Indo-Nepal or US-Nepal</a>) exist in an airtight vacuum.If there are any lessons to be learnt from the history of the Cold War or the period of globalisation that followed, it is that the bilateral relations between any two countries do not operate in a bubble.However, history does serve as an indispensable point of departure for any analysis that seeks to prognosticate the nature of Sino-Nepal relations in the coming near future. Some five months prior to the the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks that prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan, tensions were rising between Washington and Beijing as the George W Bush administration labelled China as a ‘strategic competitor’.That was, of course, in marked contrast to his predecessor Bill Clinton’s policy of forging a strategic partnership with China, embodied most explicitly in the US Congress passing legislation to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and the US Senate’s vote to give China permanent most-favoured-nation status, both in 2000. This paved the way for China’s eventual accession to the WTO in 2001.George W Bush was laser-focused on shifting attention away from what was perceived as Clinton’s flawed and benign approach vis-à-vis Beijing, towards what was deemed as an emerging “near-peer” threat from China.But after the twin towers in New York were brought down by al-Qaeda operatives, this radically, abruptly, and almost completely, shifted US attention to West Asia. Washington first attacked al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan to decimate the fulcrum of radical international terrorism. Events in Iraq, Libya and Syria would soon follow.Some analysts have argued that had the 9/11 attacks not reoriented US attention, the likelihood of China’s path towards great power status would have been considerably impaired, even curtailed. The logic is that the US would have shifted in its defence and economic posture towards China much earlier than when it actually did towards the end of the first term of the Obama presidency.Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ in 2012 and the ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’, conceptualised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was advanced vigorously by the Trump administration, and is being given continuity by President Joe Biden.In 2001 when the ‘Global War on Terror’ was launched, China had just been admitted to the WTO and was weakly linked to the world economy. Twenty years later, China has become the largest economy in the world measured in purchasing power parity terms, and is substantially interwoven within the global economy. It is now the largest export destination for 33 countries, and the largest source of imports for 65 countries.Did Washington’s inordinate concentration on Afghanistan accelerate China’s rise and significantly enhance its position in Asia today? The argument is counter-factual, and denies China, the Chinese people and the Communist Party of China, agency in chartering an adept grand strategy.As a young student in 2006 on a visiting scholar program in Beijing, I witnessed amorphous discussions on ‘China-SAARC relations’. Fast forward 15 years, and there has been a revolution in the landscape of China-South Asia ties encompassing every conceivable infrastructure program from oil pipelines to gas fields, seaports, highways, mega hydroelectric projects, ambitious railway proposals. Euphemisms such as ‘string of pearls’ have even entered the popular lexicon.And it is precisely due to this Chinese strategy to consistently expand its relations over the last two decades with not just Nepal but virtually all South Asian states, that has made alarm bells go off in Washington.This has led the United States to double down on politico-economic (even the military QUAD) initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. It is no coincidence that US Vice President Kamala Harris visited several countries in Asia just a week before the 31 August 2021 deadline set by the Biden administration for US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.The purpose of her trip, according to senior White House officials, was to demonstrate that “America is back [and that] the administration is making clear that we have an enduring commitment to this region, that we are part of the Indo-Pacific and in this region to stay.This new ‘post-Afghanistan’ era with the American ‘Rebalance to Asia’ and a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy’ is already having a considerable impact on the course of Sino-Nepal relations.<a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632014551153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFR8k2w2ueYqoyHp-voXv75mdbVIA">Bhaskar Koirala</a> is the Director of the <a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://www.niiss.org.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.niiss.org.np/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632014551153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGG-pgBvQpteFgDHSUGq-0s8Jrt3Q">Nepal Institute of International and Strategic Studies</a>.

Sino-Nepal ties in the ‘post-Afghan' era

<figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07da9c7e80680e0a5fe3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepalis gathering in Istanbul in December 2017. The number of Nepalis applying for labour approvals to work in Turkey jumped from less than 100 in 2014 to more than 1,500 in five years.</figcaption></figure>When Shyam Kala Rai moved to Turkey for domestic work in 2012, she struggled to find fellow Nepalis. Today, there are Nepalis in most major cities in the country that straddles Europe and Asia.In 2014 fewer than 100 Nepalis took labour approvals for Turkey, by 2019 that figure had jumped to over 1,500. It is estimated to be much more now.Rai is now vice-chair of the Non-resident Nepalese Association (NRNA) in Turkey and says the country is becoming a popular destination for Nepali overseas workers, especially women caregivers. She says, “Turkey is a good option. They can earn anywhere from $500 to $1,200 a month if they are determined to work hard and provide for the family back home, like I did.” But many young female migrants are not mentally and physically prepared for domestic work when they arrive, or they use the job of household help as a jumping-off point for other work, Rai says.  “For some, the only objective initially is to somehow make it abroad. But reality bites once they arrive and find that the work is not so glamorous,” she adds. “Many women escape their employers to work in spas, as part-time live-out domestic workers, or in other sectors and lose their legal status.”  <figure><img width="260" height="462" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07dd9c7e80680e0a5fe4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Shyam Kala Rai has been living in Istanbul since 2012. vice-chair of the Non-resident Nepalese Association (NRNA) in Turkey.</figcaption></figure>This is why the number of undocumented Nepali workers has grown, while others overstay their tourist visas. For employers, hiring undocumented workers can be cheaper as it relieves them from formal responsibilities like obtaining work permits or paying for monthly insurance which is costly in Turkey.But when Covid-19 hit, undocumented workers found themselves in a tough spot. Many with jobs in the hospitality sector lost their jobs, rent became unaffordable, and sometimes up to 20 Nepalis were sharing one apartment. Irregular workers were ineligible for support from the government.Ujjal Kumar Ghising, who heads NRNA Turkey estimates that there may have been up to 4,000 Nepalis in Turkey pre-COVID, but that number is decreased as many opted to return to Nepal. Others headed crossed over to Greece and into Europe. The devaluation of the Turkish lira added to the push factor. Nepal does not have an embassy in Ankara, and it is the country’s embassy in Islamabad that is accredited to Turkey. With so many Nepalis here, growing trade and regular flights by Turkish Airlines, the absence of a diplomatic presence here is sorely felt.“The Nepali consulate here is closed, and the NRNA tries to respond to the needs of Nepalis here, but there is only so much we can do,” says Ghising. “An official diplomatic presence here would be able to mobilise support for Nepalis from problematic placement officers or employers faster than we could.”A task as simple as renewing a passport, for example, can be cumbersome as documents need to be sent to Islamabad, then Kathmandu and returned to Turkey.In addition, the absence of a labour agreement with destination countries like Turkey is also a problem since there is a range of issues that require collaboration and regular dialogue between the two governments.An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu (MoFA) acknowledged that Nepal and Turkey should forge closer ties, and have regular diplomatic dialogue. Nepal had sent a draft bilateral labour agreement to Ankara but progress has been stalled because of the pandemic.“There are employment opportunities in Turkey, especially for female workers but the embassy in Pakistan has not been attesting job demand letters,” complains Sujit Shrestha of NAFEA (Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies). In 2019, 20 recruitment agencies in Kathmandu were engaged in deploying workers to Turkey. The MoFA official interviewed for this report said that most job demands in Turkey are for Nepali caregivers, but provisions needed to be in place to ensure their safety via a bilateral labour agreement given the sensitivity of the sector.However, Ghising of NRNA Turkey says that if the recruiting agency is responsible and partners with a reliable Turkish placement office, the chances are higher that the Nepali worker lands a good employer or receive help in case there are problems. There have been recent complaints of underpaid salaries and recruiters not responding to Nepali workers’ pleas for help.But the lack of demand attestation by the embassy has not stopped some recruitment agencies from bypassing the rule and obtain individual labour approvals instead of having one from agencies that would make them jointly liable with employers for compensation. “The Game”Besides being an increasingly popular destination for Nepali workers, Turkey is also a transit for Nepalis wanting to cross into Europe – which is referred to as “the game”.Ramesh is one Nepali who successfully completed his “game” to cross over to Greece, and then on to Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy over 50 days to finally land up in France where he is now.  <figure><img width="945" height="920" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07e09c7e80680e0a5fe5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Cooking food at a jungle camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="768" height="768" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07e29c7e80680e0a5fe6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Migrants including Ramesh trekking across the Slovenia-Italy border en route to France.</figcaption></figure>South Asian agents, mostly Pakistani, facilitate the crossing from Turkey to Greece, and Turkey-based Nepali agents are usually at the lower rungs of the network. Most Nepalis take the land route to Greece, and not the more dangerous seas crossing, walking day and night for a week to reach the border. <figure><img width="290" height="462" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07e59c7e80680e0a5fe7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A group of Nepalis and other South Asians rest In the forest in Croatia.</figcaption></figure>“When you are walking in the dark and if a vehicle passes by, you are instructed to just drop to the ground wherever you are and lay low till the coast is clear,” Ramesh recalled. “We survived on roti and biscuits, but the most painful part of it for me was the thirst. There was no water to drink.”  It was only in his third attempt that Ramesh finally made it across, and says he is fortunate that the Pakistani agent did not charge him any fee when he got caught and was sent back twice.  After he made it across, he paid the agent 2,000 euros and took a train to Athens with other South Asians. He then travelled across the Balkans to Italy, braved wild animals, and highway robbers, slippery trails and dangerous river crossings. There were moments of respite, like helping pick grapes in Macedonia where a local family fed them and were hospitable. “It did not matter that we did not speak each other’s languages there was just a feeling that we were all human,” says Ramesh, admitting that he has been luckier than other Nepalis who have been caught, beaten, detained or deported en route.“Many are left to die in the forests. Many never make it. I did,” he says. Ramesh is willing to share his story because he wants to warn other Nepalis how difficult “the game” is.“You have to know what the deal is, and if it is worth it,” he adds, “when you are desperate you take risks. I kept telling myself, I was doing this not for myself but for my children’s future in Nepal.”

Nepal to Turkey, and onwards

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d07d99c7e80680e0a5fe2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The world is at a tipping point in the battle to contain the spread of Covid-19. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hope-hyperbole-and-hypocrisy-of-covax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Countries across Asia are struggling to access vaccines</a> while tens of thousands are dying from the disease. Richer countries are sitting on enough doses to vaccinate their populations many times over.Sharing vaccine doses right now is our best shot if we are to prevent further catastrophe in Asia.Recently the G20 countries with 80% of the world's wealth held a global health summit and called for <a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/e006598.full_.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sharing of vaccines and production technology</a> between nations.Pharmaceutical companies made commitments to sell cut-price vaccines to lower income countries. Some companies and countries have offered intellectual property waivers or sharing of technologies on Covid-19 vaccines. The United States and Europe offered to share more vaccines and the raw materials for manufacturing. These are all positive moves. Formany parts of Asia, the burning issue now is speed.Countries with vaccine stockpiles need to sell or share their millions of excess doses either directly or via the <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax">global COVAX facility</a> to help save lives in countries experiencing record death rates. And they need to do so as quickly as possible.We only need to look at Britain and the United States to see how mass vaccination can help contain the disease. In the United Kingdom, Covid-19 vaccines have so far <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-vaccine-surveillance-report-published/">prevented 13,200 deaths and 39,700 hospitalisations</a> according to Public Health England. In the race against new waves, new variants, and new tragedies, we need such good news at a global level too.<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-cases">Eight of the 10 countries</a> in the world that are seeing infections double the fastest are in Asia and the Pacific. Many of these countries, such as Fiji and Timor Leste have low vaccination rates and fragile health systems.Many countries in Asia, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are down to their last doses, forcing authorities to suspend or scale down their vaccine rollouts. Just 3% of people in India and less than 1% in the Philippines <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">have been fully vaccinated</a>, according to Oxford University's Our World in Data.A majority of Asian and other lower income nations simply cannot compete with richer countries in the race to buy vaccines. Pakistan has ordered enough doses to inoculate only 3% of its population, while the European Union has enough to vaccinate its population 3.5 times over, according to Duke Global Health Innovation Center.It's not just about purchasing power. It's also about the resources needed to distribute and vaccinate. Britain is vaccinating people 13 times faster than Nepal, while the United States is administering more than 2.5 times as many doses per day as India for every 100 people.Even with limited supplies, countries across Asia are rushing to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vaccines-too-little-too-late-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccinate as many people as possible</a>. Every day, millions of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frontline health workers</a>, including Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers, are risking their own safety to provide lifesaving medical treatment and immunisations. These staff and volunteers needed to be vaccinated as a priority so they can make other people safe. Many critical workers have still not received even a first dose.I am writing this from Malaysia, which has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the world. Intensive care units and hospitals in many countries around Asia are full. Judging from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">what we've seen in India and Nepal</a>, demand for oxygen will outweigh supply in countries across the continent and many people will die, people who wouldn't die if they were vaccinated.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is supporting the vaccine roll out, working with health authorities to run vaccination centres, keeping people safe with clean water, soap and hygiene, and delivering <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen supplies</a>. It all helps but is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed to contain Covid-19.The only solution is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/no-country-is-safe-until-we-are-all-safe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">immediate vaccination</a> to scale at record rates. Scaling up production and sharing intellectual property rights will both make a huge difference in the medium term. In the short term, sharing surplus vaccine doses is one of the fastest ways to save lives. If there ever was a global imperative for the world to act in solidarity, it is now.Alexander Matheou is Asia Pacific Director at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Global solidarity needs intensive care in pandemic battle

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121148/636ce5739c7e80680e09670bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="734"/><figcaption>Illustration: BHANU BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>Internet shutdowns have often been used by governments to clamp down on citizens, and the trend is becoming more common around the world, including in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/south-asia-tightening-press-controls-amidst-covid-19/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/south-asia-tightening-press-controls-amidst-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815229000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVqfsMNginKpOOjYXS6El6gzgsSw">Nepal’s neighbourhood. </a>Following practices by countries in the region, the Nepal government tabled its own Information Technology Bill law to ‘regulate the use of social media’ in 2019. This followed laws that can criminalise free speech under the Penal Code, as well as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/censuring-censorship/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/censuring-censorship/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815229000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGtI7hhyTY8kjL-f27N76GmxfYgUg">Media Council Bill</a>. After <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ifj-asks-nepal-to-revoke-media-gag/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ifj-asks-nepal-to-revoke-media-gag/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815230000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEAQouVTdSdnGTdqZs0djrnTzacCA">strong backlash</a> from journalists and activists, some of these provisions were shelved.Had it been endorsed into law, the bill would have given the government unprecedented <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/in-a-surveillance-state/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/in-a-surveillance-state/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815230000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG_6Qr0cyPntkCHJBXHHmGlKvVaKg">surveillance power </a>to monitor activities of citizens through their internet and social media use. The IT bill would have also allowed the government to censor online content, and punish anyone it did not like with five years imprisonment and up to Rs1.5 million in fines.This was not the first time since the NCP government came to power three years ago that it has tried to push through such curbs on free expression. The attempts to ‘regulate’ the internet is seen as a camouflaged attempt at blanket censorship – including on the mainstream media which also have online editions.Historically, too, Nepal has regressed back to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-undermining-free-expression-hrw/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-undermining-free-expression-hrw/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815230000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGb7xEsZMzRWC1VB6nLnXujw-8ABw"> intermittent media controls</a> even after the end of the Panchayat in 1990. Most notable was the internet and mobile blackout after King Gyanendra’s military coup on 1 Feburary 2005. The army also imposed strict censorship on news, banning FM radios from broadcasting news and sent soldiers into newsrooms to monitor and censor content.Nepal is sandwiched between the Great Firewall of China through which Beijing controls the internet, and India which has the dubious distinction of being the country that has cut the internet most often.Kashmir has experienced one of the longest internet blackouts in the world. The net has not come back fully since it was put out on 5 August, 2019. This was aimed at suppressing protests that followed Modi government’s decision to nullify the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.With the internet blackout, most criticism of the government on social media platforms was blocked, and there was also censorship of the online news media. After 18 months, internet services are slowly being restored to certain parts of the state.India proves that a government does not have to be authoritarian to gag the media. Elected governments elsewhere have also suppressed freedom of expression and got away with it. Hong Kong and Burma are just the most recent examples. The Burmese military has not only ordered a total shutdown of the internet, but also mobile phone services.Ironically, governments justify their curbs on free speech by using the excuse of ‘preventing fake news’. Internet Service providers (ISP) therefore have a moral obligation to protect the right of the public to access the internet. ISP companies are forced to by reigning authorities to shut down the internet, and in many cases, within hours of public protests or critical online debates.Very often they comply with these requests as they are under the pressure of losing their licenses. So far, there have been very few reports of any ISP in any country standing up to the authorities, and defying a call for shutting down the net.A cut to net access are not only a major threat to the democracy of a nation, but also a breach of international human rights. The UN Human Rights Council rules that cutting people’s access to the internet as illegal.‘Governments are increasingly resorting to shutdowns in times of crisis, arguing they are necessary for public safety or curbing the spread of misinformation...’ says <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/global-5" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/global-5&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815230000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFgH9dy5Nn_FpZOGvJTgCqrhvmB0Q">Human Rights Watch</a> in a report. ‘When the internet is off, people’s ability to express themselves freely is limited, the economy suffers, journalists struggle to upload photos and videos documenting government overreach and abuse, students are cut off from their lessons, taxes can’t be paid on time, and those needing healthcare cannot get consistent access.’During emergencies like a pandemic, having access to the internet is even more crucial since most activities are online. At such times, the internet can actually save lives. People all over the world are now even more heavily reliant on the internet for health, education and jobs.Yet, activists say, there were 1,706 days of internet disruptions and 213 net shutdowns across 33 countries in 2019.  India, for example, had 121 shutdowns, followed by Venezuela with 12, and Yemen with 11 closures.ISPs must stand together to file collective lawsuits against any government and demand evidence of legitimate laws that allows this action. They should also be transparent with their customers, informing them of the pressure from governments to shut down their service.This information should be circulated widely via news outlets, activists and social media before these companies are forced to obey the illegal demands of the authorities. ISPs could also team up with non-profit organisations like Internet Without Borders, Access Now, and Human Rights Watch to challenge and reverse illegal laws forced on them by governments.Internet shutdowns are emerging as the next big threat to democracy in Asia, and the region’s ISPs are morally obligated to stand up against government-imposed shutdowns to protect and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/media-muzzle/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/media-muzzle/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618638815230000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFaLylEROOQNkuh6B_JOlIO_RJrcg">preserve democracy and free speech. </a>The public and ISPs must not just stay vigilant to prevent future shutdowns, but also more general suppression of freedoms, and the invasion of  individual privacy through data access.Shivani Basnet is a Master of International Affairs candidate at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in New York.

The internet gag on Asia

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7b89c7e80680e092dfbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The recent coup in Burma is a stark reminder that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">future of democracy</a> in South East and South Asia faces a treacherous path ahead. Although some observers disagree, the world has entered what we might term, the ‘New Cold War’.In this new world order, reminiscent of the Cold War from the 1950s to 1980s, many Asian countries will face the heat of an intense rivalry between two camps. The first one is led by the US and the EU and the other is led by China, often followed by Russia. This rivalry will not only challenge our understanding of, but erode and undermine democracy.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-coup-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-and-the-way-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 February 2021 coup by Burma’s military junta</a> was condemned by people in different parts of the world, while we also saw civil society representatives in Kathmandu demonstrate against it. More than 50 people have died at the hands of the military during a month of strife and many have been jailed or disappeared.In response to the coup and the spate of violence unleashed by the state, the world witnessed a polarised tussle of opinion. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on 3 February, during which, the two camps failed to condemn the coup.Thus far, the members have not been able to collectively denounce the coup except calling for the release of Burma’s democratic leader, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-remembers-aung-san-suu-kyi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aung Sang Su Kyi</a>. The world should not feel surprised if similar disagreements and tussles increase in this new world order, undermining democracy in the region.The implications of such differences could run deeper than they appear, for those of us who live in South East and South Asia. The power dynamics that the rivalries unleash unintentionally will reinforce ‘illiberal’ democracies and authoritarian regimes.Under such political circumstances, some countries might enjoy economic prosperity, but their citizens will live under a continuously controlled and coerced society (e.g., in Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam). Countries that have turbulent, violent histories and unstable governments, such as Sri Lanka, Burma, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-in-political-and-geopolitical-jam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal</a>, Maldives and Afghanistan, are likely to further plunge into instability and infighting.These states lack strong institutions, suffer from infighting amongst political rivalries, experience high level of corruption, rely heavily on foreign direct investment and foreign aid. This, in turn, poses challenges for them to build stable, inclusive, self-determined governments, despite both camps’ outward claims of supporting all of these objectives.Almost all of the South and South East Asian people once lived under colonial rule. Even countries like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/yam-between-3-boulders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal</a> and Thailand, that did not directly experience colonial rule, remained under its influence.After independence, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia saw violent partisan struggles. In the case of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, there were also armed insurrections.Most of the violent events— many of them still ongoing— are rooted in ethnicity, religion and regionalism. The first Cold War made building inclusive stable societies in these post-colonial states more complicated, fanning the flames of insurgency and division.In the post-colonial era, many leaders anchored themselves around strong nationalist personas, aiming to rewrite their countries’ history. Such efforts, while noble in some regard, often undermined democratic principles by forcefully assimilating ethnic and religious minorities under a ‘collective nationalism’.Unsurprisingly, this fueled divisions, mistrust, acrimonies and inequalities, leading to violent uprisings. The ‘democracies’ they created primarily served the elite, and in some cases, certain ethnic groups. The new Cold War rivalries, unfortunately, will reinforce similar types of democracies throughout Asia.Vietnam evidences this. A communist country that once fought a bloody war, Vietnam has become an important economic partner and regional ally for the US as it seeks to deter Chinese influence in the region.In Cambodia, despite the UN and many western donor agencies spending billions of dollars to build liberal democracy in the country, authoritarianism has prevailed. But China enjoys ‘deep’ economic ties with the government and continues to invest billions of dollars.In Burma, during the nearly six decades-long junta rule, China remained one of its most trusted allies. Apparently, it made the Generals so anxious it led them to initiate democratic reform in 2011.The recent coup will undoubtedly bring them back closer as the West will inevitably impose sanctions against the junta while China chooses its ‘non-interference’ diplomacy securing a ‘deep’ tie with the Generals.In Sri Lanka, while the West was criticising the Mahindra Rajapaksa government for human rights violence as it crushed the Tamil rebels, the Chinese made a deal with it to build one of the biggest seaports in the region.The new Cold War rivalries fueled by another power nation, India, will continue to shape the future of democracy and stability in the region. It has unleashed fresh risk for politically unstable and violent societies in the region, as well as countries that have histories of military rule. Political leaders in Nepal and elsewhere are likely to blame external influences of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/em-powering-south-asia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the US</a>, China and India instead of recognising and questioning their own competence.As the new Cold War rivalries accelerate – whether intentional or not – their positioning is likely to make way for more illiberal democracies and authoritarian regimes to emerge. Those in leadership will find little or no incentive to address the issues of the poor and marginalised, thus pushing them further into the abyss.If countries, like Nepal, want to preserve their commitment to democratic principles, it is time for the state and its people to start acting like we mean it.Dhirendra Nalbo, Ph.D. is a lecturer and the co-founder of the Open Institute for Social Science. He writes on issues related to the environment, geopolitics, conflict, and peace. <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7bb9c7e80680e092dfcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="116" height="175">

Asia’s new Cold War

<figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0b24b0ad905ca02f027jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Bhawana Gurung interviews a resident of Matatirtha in Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure>The first person infected with SARS-CoV-2 was in Wuhan as far back as December 2019, but it was not until late January that there was international concern, and it was finally declared a pandemic in February. In the thick of it was Nepali journalist Bibek Bhandari, working at Shanghai-based <a href="http://www.sixthtone.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.sixthtone.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEyXl1wLmco9a86gmJVpF_TG2dDuA">Sixth Tone</a> as news editor. “My last day in the office was on 23 January before the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday,” Bhandari recalls. “It was cold and drizzling when I left work that evening. We had already been <a href="http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005221/coronavirus-latest-updates-%28jan.-16-31%29" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005221/coronavirus-latest-updates-%2528jan.-16-31%2529&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEGDCAT1cN1u7we7DEoWZxGZhE3YA">writing</a> extensively about the novel coronavirus, and the holidays were grim.”   Shanghai was not just deserted, but there was an air of despair and fear hanging over the city. Bhandari and his colleagues covering the holiday shift were told to work from home. “We were all living in the unknown, trying to figure out what the news the next day would bring,” says Bhandari, who flew to Nepal in February and was supposed to go back on 31 March. By then, Nepal was in lockdown and all flights halted. He was stuck in Kathmandu till September. In Nepal itself, journalists were also forced to adapt. Bhawana Gurung and Asha Thapa decided to use the lockdown period to start a podcast from their home to disseminate health information. “As soon as we heard about Covid-19, we felt there was a gap in lifesaving information. We thought a podcast would be an effective medium,” says Gurung who runs <a href="https://anchor.fm/sankatma-sathi" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://anchor.fm/sankatma-sathi&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExmzRbJyWJMVvPu39tfjXv-XZbog">Sankatma Sathi</a> with Thapa, about safety during the pandemic. <figure><img width="963" height="722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0b54b0ad905ca02f028jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We recorded our first episode in bed, on the phone,” laughs Thapa, who spent the first five months of the lockdown at her home in Matatirtha, producing stories from her neighbourhood. The podcast, targeted at a rural Nepali audience, was soon hooked up by 20 community radio stations.But working from home comes with its own challenges. “In the beginning it was fun because I could work from bed, but eventually, you’re always staring at your four walls, especially if you live alone,” says Gurung.In India, however, the opposite was true for Hashim (who goes by his first name), a journalist with <a href="https://dataleads.co.in/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dataleads.co.in/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWX9flIbBzzIG0b3gNLrxg9ownXQ">Data Leads</a> in New Delhi. He says, “Everyone is not privileged. If you’re living in a one-BHK (one bedroom, hall and kitchen) apartment in Noida with six family members, it can be challenging.”Hashim was also filming tutorials for journalists on reporting from home, which required him to turn his home into a makeshift studio. “You’re constantly asking everyone to quiet down during recordings and online meetings. It can take a toll on your family,” he says. “And if you’re freelancing, it is hard to sell a story without the Covid angle.”In India, <a href="https://www.ha-asia.com/covering-and-surviving-covid-19-in-india/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ha-asia.com/covering-and-surviving-covid-19-in-india/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE1T2XsUnR47IkDsTlxMN6AkMxMKw">44 journalists died</a> due to the virus, which made Hashim himself aware of his own mortality. He has not left his Delhi neighbourhood for six months as he continues to mine data for journalistic videos from home, while skipping to stay fit. “I’m exercising for the first time in my life,” he says on WhatsApp. <figure><img width="1080" height="608" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0b74b0ad905ca02f029jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Locked away in his apartment in Kuala Lumpur for four months, Bhutanese journalist Jigmey Thinley was running up and down the stairs of his condo as the gym was closed. He was working for the <a href="https://aibd.org.my/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://aibd.org.my/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYZIvhgqXDRLEZbWWd_awIgE82kw">Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development</a> in Malaysia when the pandemic hit, and decided it was time to head home.He arrived home in Thimphu in September, as Bhutan relaxed the lockdown temporarily.  But as a new <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/seven-day-nationwide-lockdown-in-bhutan-from-today-11608681983042.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/seven-day-nationwide-lockdown-in-bhutan-from-today-11608681983042.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGfDWnon-gRAhWKMIOFjKr9j0iEkQ">national lockdown</a> came into effect in Bhutan on 23 December in response to a second wave, Thinley and his colleagues found that they could no longer go home after work. <figure><img width="1080" height="972" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0ba4b0ad905ca02f02ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We stay at the office these days. We all brought our own bedding. We’ve turned our offices into working rooms-cum-bedrooms,” says Thinley, now General Manager of News and Current Affairs at <a href="http://www.bbs.bt/news/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.bbs.bt/news/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuI5qlLZdFiy7Hx0yYyi9rPfibsA">Bhutan Broadcasting Service</a>.Logistic adjustments have been a universal experience for journalists elsewhere in Asia in 2020. Ruth Cabal works for CNN in Manila and had to manage from a temporary studio at home in the initial days of reporting COVID-19.“I live with my brother so he set up the camera with my phone and all,” says Cabal. “My Viber app served as the teleprompter because the scripts from the producer would be posted there.”Also a professor at the University of Philippines, Cabal says her broadcasts were punctuated by signal hiccups. She also had to do her own make-up while broadcasting from home and the coffees that constantly accompanied her in the live studio, was missing. <figure><img width="1231" height="998" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0bd4b0ad905ca02f02bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But the media industry has adapted well to the situation, she says, “When there’s a typhoon, a civilian stays away, but the opposite is true for journalists. We go to where the typhoon is supposed to make landfall. These are the kind of events journalists are trained for.” The ‘infodemic’ and disinformation that accompanied the pandemic have been other major challenges for the media industry, as online time went up globally.“During the lockdown, getting access to information is difficult. While we focus on the pandemic, there are many other, equally important issues that we could miss out on,” says Bhutan’s Jigmey Thinley.Which is why the pandemic has made the job of journalists all the more important, Ruth Cabal says, adding: “It is up to journalists to properly vet information and be aggressive in trying to interview the right people to give accurate information.”While the medium they work in may be different, journalists across Asia have been driving towards the same goal: sharing information that brings relief and hope to the public, sometimes at the cost of their own psychological and physical wellbeing. “It’s probably one of the biggest stories of our times globally. This means that a lot of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHFgQL8nmcwYjAtPBYpKqk6ZDX7pg">journalists</a> may have had to work relentlessly and with limited resources. We’ve heard stories about burnouts and then some pretty disheartening news about the layoffs,” says Bibek Bhandari, the Nepali journalist in Shanghai.Even with all the challenges, those doing crisis coverage have tried to find comfort in their vocation.“We did a lot of learning and creating together with colleagues, who went on to become good friends by the end of lockdown,” says podcaster Bhawana Gurung. “It’s been a year of tracing common grounds to heal — for our audience as well as for ourselves.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0bf4b0ad905ca02f02cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1000">Shanghai-based journalist Bibek Bhandari.

Pratibha Tuladhar

Journalists reflect on a year of crisis coverage

<figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9cc9c7e80680e0878dejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Bhawana Gurung interviews a resident of Matatirtha in Kathmandu.</figcaption></figure>The first person infected with SARS-CoV-2 was in Wuhan as far back as December 2019, but it was not until late January that there was international concern, and it was finally declared a pandemic in February. In the thick of it was Nepali journalist Bibek Bhandari, working at Shanghai-based <a href="http://www.sixthtone.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.sixthtone.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEyXl1wLmco9a86gmJVpF_TG2dDuA">Sixth Tone</a> as news editor. “My last day in the office was on 23 January before the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday,” Bhandari recalls. “It was cold and drizzling when I left work that evening. We had already been <a href="http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005221/coronavirus-latest-updates-%28jan.-16-31%29" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005221/coronavirus-latest-updates-%2528jan.-16-31%2529&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEGDCAT1cN1u7we7DEoWZxGZhE3YA">writing</a> extensively about the novel coronavirus, and the holidays were grim.”   Shanghai was not just deserted, but there was an air of despair and fear hanging over the city. Bhandari and his colleagues covering the holiday shift were told to work from home. “We were all living in the unknown, trying to figure out what the news the next day would bring,” says Bhandari, who flew to Nepal in February and was supposed to go back on 31 March. By then, Nepal was in lockdown and all flights halted. He was stuck in Kathmandu till September. In Nepal itself, journalists were also forced to adapt. Bhawana Gurung and Asha Thapa decided to use the lockdown period to start a podcast from their home to disseminate health information. “As soon as we heard about Covid-19, we felt there was a gap in lifesaving information. We thought a podcast would be an effective medium,” says Gurung who runs <a href="https://anchor.fm/sankatma-sathi" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://anchor.fm/sankatma-sathi&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExmzRbJyWJMVvPu39tfjXv-XZbog">Sankatma Sathi</a> with Thapa, about safety during the pandemic. <figure><img width="963" height="722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9cf9c7e80680e0878dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We recorded our first episode in bed, on the phone,” laughs Thapa, who spent the first five months of the lockdown at her home in Matatirtha, producing stories from her neighbourhood. The podcast, targeted at a rural Nepali audience, was soon hooked up by 20 community radio stations.But working from home comes with its own challenges. “In the beginning it was fun because I could work from bed, but eventually, you’re always staring at your four walls, especially if you live alone,” says Gurung.In India, however, the opposite was true for Hashim (who goes by his first name), a journalist with <a href="https://dataleads.co.in/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dataleads.co.in/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWX9flIbBzzIG0b3gNLrxg9ownXQ">Data Leads</a> in New Delhi. He says, “Everyone is not privileged. If you’re living in a one-BHK (one bedroom, hall and kitchen) apartment in Noida with six family members, it can be challenging.”Hashim was also filming tutorials for journalists on reporting from home, which required him to turn his home into a makeshift studio. “You’re constantly asking everyone to quiet down during recordings and online meetings. It can take a toll on your family,” he says. “And if you’re freelancing, it is hard to sell a story without the Covid angle.”In India, <a href="https://www.ha-asia.com/covering-and-surviving-covid-19-in-india/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ha-asia.com/covering-and-surviving-covid-19-in-india/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE1T2XsUnR47IkDsTlxMN6AkMxMKw">44 journalists died</a> due to the virus, which made Hashim himself aware of his own mortality. He has not left his Delhi neighbourhood for six months as he continues to mine data for journalistic videos from home, while skipping to stay fit. “I’m exercising for the first time in my life,” he says on WhatsApp. <figure><img width="1080" height="608" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9d29c7e80680e0878e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Locked away in his apartment in Kuala Lumpur for four months, Bhutanese journalist Jigmey Thinley was running up and down the stairs of his condo as the gym was closed. He was working for the <a href="https://aibd.org.my/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://aibd.org.my/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYZIvhgqXDRLEZbWWd_awIgE82kw">Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development</a> in Malaysia when the pandemic hit, and decided it was time to head home.He arrived home in Thimphu in September, as Bhutan relaxed the lockdown temporarily.  But as a new <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/seven-day-nationwide-lockdown-in-bhutan-from-today-11608681983042.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/seven-day-nationwide-lockdown-in-bhutan-from-today-11608681983042.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGfDWnon-gRAhWKMIOFjKr9j0iEkQ">national lockdown</a> came into effect in Bhutan on 23 December in response to a second wave, Thinley and his colleagues found that they could no longer go home after work. <figure><img width="1080" height="972" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9d59c7e80680e0878e1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We stay at the office these days. We all brought our own bedding. We’ve turned our offices into working rooms-cum-bedrooms,” says Thinley, now General Manager of News and Current Affairs at <a href="http://www.bbs.bt/news/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.bbs.bt/news/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuI5qlLZdFiy7Hx0yYyi9rPfibsA">Bhutan Broadcasting Service</a>.Logistic adjustments have been a universal experience for journalists elsewhere in Asia in 2020. Ruth Cabal works for CNN in Manila and had to manage from a temporary studio at home in the initial days of reporting COVID-19.“I live with my brother so he set up the camera with my phone and all,” says Cabal. “My Viber app served as the teleprompter because the scripts from the producer would be posted there.”Also a professor at the University of Philippines, Cabal says her broadcasts were punctuated by signal hiccups. She also had to do her own make-up while broadcasting from home and the coffees that constantly accompanied her in the live studio, was missing. <figure><img width="1231" height="998" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9d79c7e80680e0878e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But the media industry has adapted well to the situation, she says, “When there’s a typhoon, a civilian stays away, but the opposite is true for journalists. We go to where the typhoon is supposed to make landfall. These are the kind of events journalists are trained for.” The ‘infodemic’ and disinformation that accompanied the pandemic have been other major challenges for the media industry, as online time went up globally.“During the lockdown, getting access to information is difficult. While we focus on the pandemic, there are many other, equally important issues that we could miss out on,” says Bhutan’s Jigmey Thinley.Which is why the pandemic has made the job of journalists all the more important, Ruth Cabal says, adding: “It is up to journalists to properly vet information and be aggressive in trying to interview the right people to give accurate information.”While the medium they work in may be different, journalists across Asia have been driving towards the same goal: sharing information that brings relief and hope to the public, sometimes at the cost of their own psychological and physical wellbeing. “It’s probably one of the biggest stories of our times globally. This means that a lot of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1609221912718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHFgQL8nmcwYjAtPBYpKqk6ZDX7pg">journalists</a> may have had to work relentlessly and with limited resources. We’ve heard stories about burnouts and then some pretty disheartening news about the layoffs,” says Bibek Bhandari, the Nepali journalist in Shanghai.Even with all the challenges, those doing crisis coverage have tried to find comfort in their vocation.“We did a lot of learning and creating together with colleagues, who went on to become good friends by the end of lockdown,” says podcaster Bhawana Gurung. “It’s been a year of tracing common grounds to heal — for our audience as well as for ourselves.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9da9c7e80680e0878e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1000">Shanghai-based journalist Bibek Bhandari.

<img width="794" height="1052" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc659c7e80680e080313jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>One of Barack Obama’s White House staffers once got into trouble for saying that a hurricane disaster presented a good opportunity for the administration to show it could get things done. It was politically incorrect, but true. Indeed, here in Nepal, frequent natural disasters have been god-sent chances for governments of the day to prove themselves. We thought that would happen after the 2015 earthquake, but our rulers squandered the chance to invest in rebuilding with massive job creation. The Blockade was a time to rise to the occasion, and turn the crisis into an opportunity for the government to demonstrate it was serious about trade diversification and weaning Nepal away from petroleum dependency.  This monsoon’s landslides and floods with unprecedented loss of life could have yielded political dividends if only Prime Minister K P Oli’s government was not so obsessed with an internecine power struggle within his ruling party. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/declare-a-health-emergency/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/declare-a-health-emergency/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE5a21Io-UJUEmHYCcUrhPRD4Wyuw">Covid-19 crisis</a> offers the Oli administration a chance to take the advice of scientists and act decisively to cushion the blow on Nepal’s most vulnerable citizens. Instead, it has fallen back on business as usual, coddling cronies and now, as we near year-end, to tell Nepalis that they have to take care of themselves. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-leaders-are-in-isolation/">Nepal's leaders are in isolation</a>, Editorial To be fair, even the most accountable and well-governed countries in the world have been found wanting in dealing with the coronavirus crisis. Europe is struggling to contain the spread ahead of a predicted winter resurgence. In the United States, President Trump has no plan, and has surrendered to the virus.  The Dasain break offered the government a chance to regroup and reassess its Covid-19 strategy. Alas, leaders of the two factions in the ruling NCP appear to have wasted the time to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRHcywZTZ_Tw7NW7ML6FtISdI9Hw">plot their next move</a> to undermine each other.  The surprise visit by Indian intelligence chief Samant Goel to Kathmandu on 21 October became another excuse for the two factions to lash out, and prove one was more nationalist than the other. NCP members loyal to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/running-to-remain-in-place/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/running-to-remain-in-place/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLKhibNVJAkXWG-2-jbDa0IUXeYQ">Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a> were having a go at their own prime minister, as if they were members of an opposition party. Oli’s advisers did him no favours by flip-flopping on whether Goel was in Kathmandu on a private or official visit, and if he was sent by Prime Minister Modi, or invited himself. What got lost in all the Oli-slamming was that Goel also met Baburam Bhattarai at close quarters before he tested positive for Covid-19, as well as secretly meeting other Dahal loyalists.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/declare-a-health-emergency/">Declare a health emergency</a>, Shekhar Kharel It now appears that India’s top spook was indeed sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a trusted emissary to patch up <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-passes-map-bill-india-reacts/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-passes-map-bill-india-reacts/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG3Ty-Kl7zbVxvM10kCU3uhre4vGw">strained India-Nepal relations</a>, and address the perception spread by India’s jingoistic media that Nepal is drifting into the Chinese orbit. The timing is also significant -- it comes ahead of a three-day visit by India’s Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane on 4 November, which had been delayed by the pandemic.  Naravane is well remembered in Kathmandu for his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-cartoonists-poke-india-over-kalapani/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-cartoonists-poke-india-over-kalapani/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEgW95N1zenvE42Y4-xetGzoO1QKA">gaffe during the Limpiyadhura dispute</a> in May during which he implied that Nepal was being egged on by China to stake its claim on its territory. This remark was criticised even in India for his insensitivity towards Nepali nationals serving in the Indian Army, some of them deployed in Ladakh. There is much confidence rebuilding that Naravane needs to do in Kathmandu. The Goel jet dash to Kathmandu and the Naravane visit take on added meaning with the 2+2 meeting of top American and Indian foreign and defence officials in New Delhi on Tuesday, and the signing of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) – which despite its awkward acronym is essentially a bilateral strategic pact.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/reconnecting-india-to-rest-of-asia/">Reconnecting India to rest of Asia</a>, Pradumna B Rana This is proof that the world is once more bipolar, as the Anglosphere plus Japan and India are pitted against China, and its growing dominance and influence in the world. With the flare-up in tension between India and China over their Himalayan border, Nepal has to tread carefully in this new Great Game between its giant northern and southern neighbours. <figure><img width="640" height="365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc689c7e80680e080314jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper at India's National War Memorial in New Delhi on 26 October to pay homage to soldiers killed in the Ladakh clash in April. Photo: PIB India</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, in Kathmandu US-China rivalry was taken to a new level with Dasain diplomacy. American ambassador <a href="https://twitter.com/PRCAmbNepal/status/1320589152304263169" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/PRCAmbNepal/status/1320589152304263169&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFTq_8Vnw6hFTtgPFAlxnMmMZXOiQ">Randy Berry made mutton curry</a> while <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEHLgOrbfHiXBtY2AyTPZzLlBXsrQ">Chinese ambassador Hou Yanqi </a>outdid everyone by singing the popular trekking song <a href="https://twitter.com/PRCAmbNepal/status/1320589152304263169" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/PRCAmbNepal/status/1320589152304263169&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603951536970000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFTq_8Vnw6hFTtgPFAlxnMmMZXOiQ">Resham Firi</a>. We wonder if the allusion to the scarf waving in the wind was to the New Silk Road to counter the American-supported  MCC.In the midst of all this high drama, it is easy for Prime Minister Oli to lose focus on the main crisis at hand -- managing the health and economic fallout of Covid-19. But it is a chance for him to use the disaster to prove that he can protect the people who elected him and his party to power.

Covid-19 and the new Great Game

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8bc79c7e80680e06b2c0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="896"/>Governments in industrialised countries must not ignore the plight of poorer nations facing the coronavirus pandemic, or the disease will not be brought under control.African nations report growing numbers of cases, and more and more infections are being detected in countries with endemic poverty in Asia as testing picks. There are growing fears that developing countries could soon see major outbreaks they will not be able to cope with.A potential paralysis of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already vulnerable healthcare systems</a> would not only have a drastic impact on public health, but could also push people further into poverty and deprivation. If developed countries in Europe and North America bring COVID-19 under control, there is a threat that the disease would rage on in developing countries, with the danger that it could spread back into places like North America and Europe.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal must hope for the best, prepare for the worst</a>, Buddha Basnyat and Sudeep AdhikariRich states must keep a focus on helping other countries with weak healthcare systems, despite the fact they are fighting their own battle with the disease.“High income countries are completely consumed with what is happening in their own states, but it would be good if they could give at least some focus to poorer countries,” Amanda Glassman of the Washington-based Global Centre for Development think-tank. “If things are not brought under control in less developed countries, it could come back to hurt developed countries later on.”But while there have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/could-an-anti-tb-vaccine-be-protecting-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">far fewer registered cases of the disease</a> in Africa, Asia and South America, many health experts believe that those numbers could very quickly rise dramatically. Some countries also face extra burdens of other endemic diseases, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent natural disasters</a>  or coping with large-scale refugee influxes.“Sub-Saharan Africa is already struggling with the Ebola virus and the locust invasion and associated famines. It now faces a third war against the coronavirus. In many countries, resources are stretched thin,” said Dan Steinbock of the Difference Group advisory organisation.South Africa has the world’s worst HIV/AIDS epidemic and it is not known how a major coronavirus outbreak may affect treatment for those with HIV/AIDS or outcomes if they are infected with COVID-19. In Latin America, where more than two thirds of people live in extreme poverty, doctors have already warned of the strain widespread coronavirus infections could put on hospitals and health workers.Any major COVID-19 outbreak could affect incidence, and treatment of other diseases in some African states, says Ambrose Talisuna at the WHO Regional Office for Africa. “We saw this with Ebola outbreaks in some African countries. There was a diversion of resources to the disease and the healthcare system couldn’t deal with the shock of the outbreak. People died of malaria, people couldn’t get treatment for tuberculosis.”There would also be serious economic problems. Not only would massive financial resources have to go into healthcare rapidly, but measures implemented to contain the virus’s spread, such as travel restrictions, business closures, quarantines, would very soon affect people’s incomes.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ke-garne-attitude-kills-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ke garne attitude kills people</a>, Laxmi BasnetOne potential advantage some less developed countries may have in dealing with an initial outbreak is their experience with other deadly infectious diseases. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a devastating Ebola outbreak has just been brought under control. Tests for COVID-19 could simply be added to existing Ebola screening on entry into the country.Some of the poorest in the world in Asia, Latin America and Africa, have begun introducing strict measures to try and halt the spread of the disease. These have included closing borders and lockdowns. While WHO has supported the use of such measures, they have been shown to have had an enormous economic toll with sectors such as travel, transportation, tourism and retail, among others, all seriously affected.“The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-nepal-can-learn-from-china-about-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">draconian measures that China opted for</a> have been very costly. But all alternatives would have been much worse. The Chinese leadership had to choose between extensive economic damage in one to two quarters with probable virus containment, or far greater economic devastation coupled with drastic increases in cases and deaths,” explained Steinbock.But the costs cannot, and should not, be borne by developing nations alone, development experts say. While local governments can help businesses and individuals with measures such as tax relief, providing financial support through loans, and exemptions from health and social security payments, other countries have a role to play.This month the World Bank made $12 billion available in immediate support to help countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak. The International Monetary Fund has said $10 billion could be mobilised in loans to low-income countries tackling the virus. On March 13 WHO and its partners launched the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-03-2020-who-un-foundation-and-partners-launch-first-of-its-kind-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-03-2020-who-un-foundation-and-partners-launch-first-of-its-kind-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587206340290000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEFMIPH219XuGD5cfiwkL2SpBnokg">COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund</a> which aims to raise funds from private and corporate individuals to contribute to global response efforts. Meanwhile, the Global Fund for HIV, TB and malaria is to allow some funds to be used for the virus response while the United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund global emergency response fund has made $15 million available.Over a month ago, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus launched a $675 million preparedness plan hoping to contain the crisis and pave the way to deter future crises. But that is less than 1% of the US 2020 military budget. In late February, the European Commission earmarked $124 million for the WHO response plan, but others have not proved as generous.Added Steinbock: “No matter how it is funded, experts agree that developing countries must be given whatever help is needed to contain the disease. If cases escape detection in poor countries, then it is more likely than not that weak healthcare systems, coupled with endemic poverty and social instability could result in a secondary epidemic with potential global impact.”IPS

A COVID-19 third wave in the Third World?

Born in Khandbari in eastern Nepal, Parashuram Pathak helped his family around the farm, sold what they grew in the market and lent a hand in the kitchen.&nbsp; After working as a chef in Dubai, San Francisco, Denmark, Australia, and on cruise ships, Pathak has now brought back what he has learnt to the Tusa Restaurant in Bhaktapur that opened on Nepali New Year on 13 April. Tusa uses fresh indigenous ingredients from various parts of Nepal, and fuses them with international methods to produce unique dishes. Pathak is a global Nepali, and is introducing global Nepali cuisine to his homeland. Pathak left an executive chef job to intern at three-Michelin-starred Noma in Denmark, named the best restaurant in the world five times. Noma runs on a philosophy of foraging to rediscover wild local ingredients, and Tusa’s mission is similarly noble: preparing dishes with Nepali ingredients using modern techniques and equipment. “We are taking Nepali food beyond dal-bhat and momo, we are taking it international,” Pathak said on the phone from Sydney. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-baker-rises-to-the-top-in-denmark">Denmark’s best baker is a Nepali</a>, Vishad Onta  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="802" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photo: PARASHURAM PATHAK/FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  Pathak’s team in Nepal includes chefs Rupesh Bohara and Sagar Shrestha who have also worked extensively in Dubai and Australia, and share his vision. The three realised they shared the same dream, and over the past five years have travelled across Nepal to research their menu, collecting ingredients and ideas from homestays, food carts, and nature. The team then scouted for Nepal’s best architect, and zeroed in on Bhaktapur-based heritage conservationist Rabindra Puri who designed the Malla-era house for Tusa in the Nag Pokhari neighbourhood. Bohara and Shrestha have moved back to Nepal for good, and Pathak arrives in September. “I made dishes from all over the world, but when someone asked what Nepali food was like, I had no answer,” says Bohara, “I came back to find out.” &nbsp;“You can get citizenship, a green card, big houses and cars, but where is the self-satisfaction?” asks Shrestha, who has a red-and-blue chef’s knife with the sun and moon of the Nepali flag tattooed on his right forearm.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/the-return-of-a-master-baker"> The return of a master baker</a>, Raju Pakhrin  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photos: TUSA</figcaption> </figure>  Bohara and Shrestha passionately recount stories of their trips across Nepal, speaking of generous lodge owners who introduced them to local ingredients. Tusa can seat 28, and dining here is a sensory experience with a live kitchen. The chefs cook and place dishes on a large granite countertop with induction sections built in. Behind the counter is a grill on an indoor fire with pulley control to adjust the fire. Everything that can be made in Nepal — chairs and tables, ceramic dishes, the grill — is locally sourced. The executive kitchen/laboratory is downstairs. It is spacious, spotless, and contains appliances rarely seen in restaurants here: a sous vide machine that cooks vacuum-sealed packets at consistent temperatures, and a dehydrator for sisnu nettles. A fresh batch of deep purple kimbu (mulberry) muffins has just come out of the oven. Fridges have dry-aged fish and marigold kombucha. Fermentation seems to be the theme at Tusa, and Pathak explained: “Fermentation takes away the natural sugars in food, leaving behind a true, umami taste.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/vikings-khukri-passion">Viking's khukri passion</a>, Alisha Sijapati  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89" data-rendition-name="original" width="5895" height="3930" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> </figure>  Tusa itself means ‘shoot’ in Nepali, and can be a dish of fermented bamboo shoots. The restaurant serves a tasting menu with six courses, plus surprises. It starts with a fermented potato and millet roti with charred green garlic and tomato chutney. The bread tastes like a mix of alu paratha and kodoko roti with a satisfying, mild flavour. The chefs do not show off, and overdo it. Dishes are tastefully simple and faithful, a theme that runs through the meal. The second course is a filet of fish charred on one side and placed in a broth. It is delicate and smokey, and does not mask the character of the fish.&nbsp; The next is Batuk Chukauni, a Magar dish with a lentil snack and a yoghurt-based potato achar. The batuk, made of lentil batter, is light and the chukauni has potatoes and peas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/money-is-not-everything-but-you-need-money-for-everything">"Money is not everything, but you need money for everything"</a>, Rohit Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Batuk Chukauni. Photo: VISHAD ONTA</figcaption> </figure>  Next is a skewer of jackfruit with a tamarind and mustard glaze that has the texture of a slice of sausage and melts in the mouth. Then comes the first off-menu item: a steak of watermelon, glazed and grilled, tasting sweet, sour and smokey. After that a palate cleanser sorbet made with laligurans syrup adorned with a frozen candied rhododendron petal. Finally the main course: barbeque chicken and chyakla coarse corn grits. The chicken has been brined, marinated, cooked sous-vide and seared on the grill. The delicate consistency of the chicken stands out. Desert is a smooth, creamy cheesecake that uses the local juju-dhau yoghurt. And the last course is a moist, moss-green sisnu cake laced with mulberry jam and cream.&nbsp; There is nothing gimmicky about Tusa. It is the coming together of skilled Nepalis with international exposure who have mixed what they have learnt abroad with the flavours of home.&nbsp; The tasting menu is Rs3,500, and it may take some time before Nepalis develop a predilection for some of its items. The chefs are excited, vindicated, and relieved. Coming back to Nepal, uprooting successful careers abroad to take a chance on Nepal must not have been easy.&nbsp; Tusa had a soft launch on New Year’s day with Kathmandu-based diplomats. Australian Ambassador Felicity Volk was one of them, and wrote on a Facebook post: ‘Chefs who honed their skills in Australia and returned to Nepal to give back. We call it fine dining, they call it #cominghome.’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-baker-of-barpak">The baker of Barpak</a>, Tara Aryal Pandey

The return of the natives

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

Midway along the stretch of the ancient trade route between Tibet and India lies the Kel Tol neighbourhood. The name is derived from the original Koligrām, and it is believed the Koli people, who were originally from Rāmagrām in present-day southern Nepal near the Indian border, settled here. The Koli were the maternal ancestors of none other than the Buddha. Kel Tol is famous for the Buddhist monastic complex of Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar, featuring the majestic two-tiered gilded temple of the white god Karunāmaya.&nbsp; This elaborately decorated courtyard is a bustling centre of the Vajrayāna sect of Buddhism, practised widely by the indigenous Newā people of Kathmandu Valley. Karunāmaya, also known as Ārya Avalokiteshwor, is defined in great detail in the 1st century CE Buddhist text Sadharmapundarikā where he liberates all sentient beings from suffering. He helps rid the eight external fears metaphorically equated with their equivalent internal states of mind: lions (pride), wild elephants (ignorance), fire (anger), snakes (jealousy), floods (attachment), imprisonment (miserliness), thieves (wrong views) and cannibals (doubt).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1338" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  In the Pancha Rakshyā Sutra, a Buddhist scripture from 200 CE, Ārya Avalokiteshwor was counted among the eight major deities. Followers of the Brāhminical god Shiva worship Ārya Avalokiteshwor as Seto Machhindranāth. For Shaivites, Machhindranāth is the Indian saint who founded the Nāth cult in the 10th century CE. He is the guru of saint Gorakhnāth. During the reign of Yakshya Malla (1428–1482 CE), a beautiful image of Ārya Avalokiteshwor was dug up by a farmer in present-day Jamal, which was then a cultivated area outside the city. The farmer, known as a Jamami (meaning the one from Jamal) took the image home for safekeeping. That night, Ārya Avalokiteshwor appeared in the farmer’s dream and told him that the proper place for him to reside is at the confluence of two rivers. The nearest confluence was at present-day Wongha (Indrachok) and the image was installed in the Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar complex in Kel Tol near Wongha. This made it easier for city residents to pay homage to Ārya Avalokiteshwor and spread compassion. Soon, the deity came to be revered highly as Jamaleshwor, the one found in Jamal. Eventually, the name got corrupted, as happens often in Nepāl Bhāsā, to Janabahā Dyo. The courtyard where his temple is located is now popularly known as Janabahā.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The gilded temple of Janabahā Dyo, first built in the early 16th century CE, is adorned with wooden and metal artefacts that symbolise 108 forms of Ārya Avalokiteshwor. It stands out as the most decorated temple of its kind in Kathmandu. Today, Janabahā is a living heritage site where many ancient customs and rituals are widely practised as per Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition. Devotees throng the Janabahā Dyo shrine for daily worship and to receive Karunāmaya’s blessings. Being the compassionate one, Ārya Avalokiteshwor goes around town every year in his tall wooden chariot to allow sick and physically disabled devotees to pay homage to him from the comfort of their homes. One could say it is a door-to-door visit by the Compassionate One.&nbsp; For the pragmatic minded, the chariot festival is an annual renewal of communal harmony, validation of our ancient mathematical supremacy and demonstration of the need to keep practical skills alive, including the craft of building earthquake resilient houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The Janabahā Dyo chariot is pulled from Jamal, where his image was found by the farmer, through the historic heart of Kathmandu in a gala parade every year. The procession, accompanied by folk music ensembles and revellers, starts on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra, and lasts up to a week (ending on Saturday this year). Hundreds of devotees pull the chariot along the streets as a way of expressing their gratitude to lord Karunāmaya for blessing them with compassion and well-being. Purna Ratna Vajrāchārya is an ordained priest who belongs to the clan responsible for taking care of Janabahā Dyo. He has been studying the design and architecture of the chariot for the past 40 years, and overseeing its construction for the past 15. He has learnt that the engineering principles of building the chariot are based on the mathematical system in which Buddhism is taught. For example, 365 pieces of wood are used in the chariot, each representing a day of the year. Each of the four wheels consist of 25 pieces of wood, totalling 100, representing completeness or fulfilment. The chariot is vertically divided into 13 sections, a parallel to the Buddhist concept of Trayodashi Bhuvana that describes the 13 steps that one must take to achieve the state of Nirvana.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563" data-rendition-name="original" width="1668" height="2500" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  &nbsp;Exactly nine types of wood are used, which is the sum of the four base elements that make up the universe (earth, water, fire and air) and the five human senses. The height and length of the chariot is 32 arm’s length (hāt in Sanskrit), 14.8m. The number 32 represents the maximum number of auspicious and physical qualities one could possess to be considered an outstanding human being.&nbsp; Says Vajrācharya, “Observing how the chariot is built helps one learn the fundamental pillars of the Buddha’s teachings, and find an easier path to Nirvana.” The structural design of the nearly 15m wooden chariot is not only awe-inspiring but also gravity-defying. It leverages the pliancy of the materials used in its construction -- flexible joints tied with cane soaked in water for several days. The precise proportions of the chariot ensure great manoeuverability in the narrow streets along the route of the chariot procession that include some 90° bends, without colliding into houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="3750" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  Driving and steering the chariot with brute muscle power of the mirthful crowd is a seemingly impossible task. But this has been achieved year after year, despite the fact that the devotees who tug wildly at the ropes lassoed to the two front wheels, are most likely in high-spirits (pun intended). Sanjay Manandhar, a US-based technology entrepreneur, recounts how his high school physics teacher from Canada asked his students to go observe the locals build the chariots of Karunāmaya if they were interested in becoming engineers in the future.&nbsp; “That made no sense to me then, but, after all these decades, I now see clearly how the structural design of the chariot, adopted early on by our ancestors is full of earthquake-resilient properties that need to be applied in building houses in an earthquake-prone zone like Nepal,” says Manandhar. A highlight of the chariot festival is that human goddess Kumari makes an appearance at the final destination in Lagan, usually on the third day. This is only one of the 13 times that people get to see the Kumari outside her temple abode.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  On the last day of the festival (Saturday), the image of lord Karunāmaya is carried on a palanquin by priests from Janabahā in a gala procession and brought back to his permanent residence at the temple in Kel Tol.&nbsp; The chariot festival is thought to have started during the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kantipur in the 17th century CE. For close to four centuries, the construction of the chariot and its operation has proven to be a phenomenal engineering feat, and the people’s faith in divinity means the tradition is alive.&nbsp; The essence of the colourful rituals and the religious beliefs of this ancient chariot festival is now all but lost. The logic, technology and practicality must be brought back to light, as they reflect the high civilisation and wisdom of our ancestors that we can leverage in modern times and into the future. &nbsp; Alok Tuladhar is a culture and heritage documentarian.

Kathmandu’s gravity-defying chariot festival

In the run-up to the third Nepal Investment Summit this weekend, there have been seminars, conferences and workshops where the discourse has revolved around the economy and the investment climate.
The consensus that Nepal needs foreign direct investments (FDI) to grow was repeated, and the familiar litany of reasons about why it has not been able to was discussed.&nbsp;
Policy advocates and regulators have understood that the lack of urgency is compounded by procedural inconsistencies, on top of the already deficient investment environment in the country.
It is a welcome change from what used to be flippantly accepting matters as given. There now seems to be a sense of urgency, with procedural inconsistencies and lack of harmonisation between various Acts and regulations openly discussed.&nbsp;
Government stakeholders also appear more willing to learn and attempt to be part of the solution. Whatever policy changes have been introduced in the past have been piecemeal and address the few rather than the entire industry. This left dual regulatory approaches aimed at similar players.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/killing-investment-in-nepal-in-10-easy-steps">Killing investment in Nepal in 10 easy steps</a>, Dibesh Karmacharya
This time, unlike in the past two Summits, the government seems to be committed to amending 9 Acts, a positive step towards showing commitment to change. However, the deadline to do so during the winter session of Parliament is over. The option mooted has been to have it passed through ordinance, a lesser appealing step; albeit, a positive one moving forward.&nbsp;
To attract FDI in a competitive global market means that Nepal has to demonstrate that it is serious about bringing in investments with a more consultative and collaborative approach with investors. A departure from procedural to a result-oriented focus is needed.&nbsp;
To put issues in perspective, Nepal needs US$20 billion in investments to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets by 2030. If net-zero decarbonisation targets are to be met by 2045, another US$7 billion will be required annually.&nbsp;
Looking at our investment history and poor government capital expenditure, the gap is long and wide. In fiscal year 2022-23 Nepal booked a lamentable ~$59 million in FDI (equity). Nepal is in fact the lowest market in South Asia for FDI with 0.3% of the regional average.&nbsp;
What is it that we can do to fill the gap?&nbsp;
First, we need to move away from the notion that Nepal only needs large investments. This has proven to be a mistake, and time series data have proven that smaller investments, in aggregate, make a larger impact on economies.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/poor-cash-rich-nepal">Poor cash-rich Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale
We talk about an ‘enabling environment’ but without the right tools. We place restrictions on interest on debt ceiling (SOFR +5.5), without risk premium adjustments, we do not have an active secondary market for bond trading, nor do we have a yield curve, an integral part of the bond market, which is inhibiting us from tapping into the trillion dollar green bond market.&nbsp;
In order to attract green financing, Nepal needs to develop its bond market. Sovereign risk rating has been mooted and was expected to be operationalised before the Investment Summit.&nbsp;
However, to be rated in an adverse economic environment could further deteriorate investment potential due to a lesser-than-expected rating.&nbsp;
Hedging is another instrument that needs further research on. A commercial bank last year showcased the first risk-hedging mechanism for an investment of $8 million. This can be the beginning to expand on its modality. &nbsp;
Subordinated debt instruments have been introduced, but on a special nod basis, this now needs to be institutionalised as it is the most applicable form of investment after equity in a market that has volatile forex reserves.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
Viability Gap Funding has been introduced by multilateral development agencies implemented in solar installations. It is a tool to incentivise the private sector to invest in projects that are not financially lucrative initially, but have potential for profitability in the long run. This needs to be scaled up and replicated in sectors like infrastructure, where returns may not be immediate.
Moving forward, to attract FDI, Nepal needs to tap into the funds that are available for the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and climate change. Alternative investments such as Private Equity Venture Capital (PEVC) have been around in a structured manner in Nepal for nearly a decade now.
These funds have blended finance components and have attracted climate funding as well. PEVC is a new asset class and can address the issues of penetrating into SME financing by incorporating environment, social and governance issues into their investment process.&nbsp;
SMEs are the backbone of any economy, PEVC comes with the ability not only to scale up the enterprise with risk capital, but with the ability to bring technical knowhow to enhance not only the enterprise but also the entrepreneur.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/success-in-nepal-means-not-having-to-work">Success in Nepal means not having to work</a>, Anil Chitrakar
A differentiator from all other forms of financing available till date in Nepal. Blended finance is a way of de-risking investments, especially in frontier markets. Business Oxygen (BO2) is an example of blended finance with subordinated debt investments of IFC (World Bank Group) taking the lead and Climate Investment Funds along with FCDO as co-investors.&nbsp;
On a larger scale, the 216MW Upper Trisuli 1 is another example of blended finance with IFC, a Korean consortium and local investments. So far, we see that development finance Institutions have been taking the lead in Nepal as their risk appetite is greater than commercial investors and they are eager to help develop the financial markets.&nbsp;
In order to be sustainable, we need to step on this and attract commercial capital from all over the world. To do this there has to be political will to make that pivot.&nbsp;
Instead of being a means to an end, the two previous Investment Summits turned out to be intermittent and cosmetic, providing hardly any results. The third one’s success will depend on how the event will be implemented as a platform for continuous marketing for the country and facilitation for investors in future.&nbsp;
Nepal has outdone many countries in its macro-economic indicators, with sound forex reserves and a stellar history of debt payments to its creditors. This story needs to be propagated along with the drive for change to attract potential investors.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/alternative-investments-to-attract-fdi">Alternative investments to attract FDI</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey

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