Here’s how factionalism and regionalism worked during Nepali Congress election

Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest surviving party, elected its leadership last week. The party, which is grappling with factionalism, elected its president and general secretary from two rival factions. Regionalism, which emerged following the movement in the Madhesh, became a new ailment for the party, and in an attempt to woo Madheshi voters, rival groups fielded Madheshis as candidates for treasurer.
So, how did factionalism and regionalism decide the outcome of the elections? Onlinekhabar analysed the results and came to this conclusion:


During the 12th convention of the party, then president Sushil Koirala received 1,652 votes, and his general secretary Prakashman Singh 1,656 votes. Both were from the establishment faction.
This time, Sher Bahadur Deuba has become president, but Shashank Koirala, who is not from the Deuba faction, has become general secretary. Of all the candidates that the establishment faction fielded, Shashank  received the most number of votes.
Establishment’s vote: 1,200
Ramchandra Poudel, the establishment side’s candidate for president, received 1,160 votes in the first round, and in the second round it went up to 1, 296. While the faction’s candidate for treasurer, Sitadevi, also received 1,217 votes. That is why it can be said that the faction’s true supporters are 1,200 convention delegates.
Source: Creating Nepal

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Nepal likely to sign transit treaty with China during PM Oli’s visit, other agendas still in the works

During Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s upcoming visit to China, Nepal will try to ink a transit treaty with its  northern neighbour. Nepal has completed its homework for the treaty.
If this treaty materialises, Nepal will gain access to Chinese seas to engage in overseas trade via China. If this happens, Nepal will not have to rely solely on Indian ports for import of goods from third countries and exports.
Prime Minister Oli is leaving for China on March 20. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Commerce Minister Dipak Bohora and Supplies Minister Ganesh Man Pun will be part of the delegation.
On March 21, Prime Minister Oli will meet his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry is currently finalising the agendas for the visit.
Nepali officials say Nepal has completed preparations for a transit treaty with China. An official close to PM Oli said:
If preparations are any guide, Nepal will ink a transit treaty with China during the Prime Minister’s visit. Homework is afoot as far as other agendas are concerned.
During his recent visit to India, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thapa had said a transit treaty with China is the main agenda of PM Oli’s upcoming visit to China.
Rajan Sharma, chair of the Freight Forwarders’ Association, said it will be great if Nepal signs a transit treaty with China. “During his visit to Nepal,  then Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had pleged to give Nepal access to six Chinese ports. But we did not bother to conduct a study on this,” he told Onlinekhabar.  If the transit treaty materialises, it will be very easy for Nepal to export goods to Europe via China.
With Germany, China already has a rail link, meaning that Nepal will have easy access to European markets if it signs a transit treaty with China.
Of late, China has put the operation of the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung customs point on priority. China has announced that it will bring rail up to Sigatse by 2020. This means Kerung will emerge as the major customs point along the China border instead of Tatopani.
What of BIPPA, oil deal?
Nepal has done homework for BIPPA — bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement — and a petroleum import deal with China. But it’s still unclear whether these deals will materialise during PM Oli’s China visit.
Beijing has indicated that Chinese President is likely to visit Nepal some months later.  “During that visit also, Nepal and China will sign some deals, so some of the deals may not materialise during PM Oli’s upcoming China visit,” an official said. During the Indian blockade, Nepal had reached an understanding with China for import of 33 per cent of its oil requirement from China. A formal agreement for this is yet to take place.
Opening the Korala customs and some other customs points is very much on Nepal’s agenda and so is construction of some north-south roads as well as other projects like Ring Road extension. Government officials say preparations are afoot to sign agreements to expedite these projects.
Source: Extra News

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PM Oli leading a jumbo team to China, expert says it’s a must for signing important agreements

Kathmandu, March 14
In all likelihood, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will be leaving for China with a team as big as the team that accompanied him during the recent visit to India.
Among those accompanying Oli to China are Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Supplies Minister Ganesh Man Pun and Commerce Minister Dipak Bohora.
The full team (accompanying PM Oli to China) is yet to take shape, Prime Minister’s foreign affairs expert, Gopal Khanal, said and hinted that the team may be as big as the one that accompanied the PM during his visit to India.
Asked to explain the need for a huge team, Khanal said: There have been preparations for signing different vital agreements for which presence of ministries concerned is a must. Apart from that, the Prime Minister has to include certain people in his team. Sending a big team is not our desire. Rather, it is because there’s a need and a context for the same.
The government team accompanying PM Oli during his India visit had 46 members. Later on, a team of businesspeople had also joined in. Khanal said businesspeople accompanying the PM to China will foot their bills on their own.
As part of preparations for his China visit, PM Oli held discussions with former prime ministers and foreign ministers on Sunday. They advised PM Oli to make his visit fruitful by making good use of Nepal’s friendship with China. They stressed the need to do away with the tendency to remember China in times of crisis only.
PM Oli said his visit is meant to focus on issues of bilateral interest, instead of just submitting a wishlist. Most importantly, Oli said deals to be signed with China will put an end to Nepal’s dependence on one country.
Source: Express Funtus

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PM Oli briefs Prez Bhandari on his upcoming visit to China

Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called on President Bidhya Bhandari at the latter’s office in Sheetal Niwas on Monday afternoon.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli apprised President Bhandari of his upcoming visit to China and the current situation of the country, Sheetal Niwas said in a press release. PM Oli is leaving for China on March 20.

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Nepal’s Immigration department to probe illegal entry of US nationals into Lumbini, Kathmandu

Bhairahawa, March 15
The Department of Immigration is conducting a probe into the recent illegal entry of 47 US nationals of Vietnamese origin and a Canadian national into Nepal from Belhiya in Uttar Pradesh, India. Last Friday, Onlinekhabar had run a report revealing that the foreigners had managed to visit a number of places in Nepal, including Gautam Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini and the national capital Kathmandu, without visa.
“Based on the report published on Onlinekhabar, we have started homework for a probe,” information officer at the department, Bishwa Prakash Neupane, told Onlinekhabar.
On February 28, 2016, the 47 Americans and a Canadian national had entered Nepal through Belhiya. At night, they left the hotel where they had stayed and sneaked out of the Bhairahawa-Belhiya border.
Neupane said they will pursue an investigation into the case after holding discussions with stakeholders. The immigration department cannot monitor all customs points through which foreigners enter Nepal, he said, adding that police should also monitor the customs.
He said the department will discuss the matter with the Belhiya immigration office, Rupandehi police and police officials from all districts that lie on the Bhairahawa-Kathmandu land route.
Nepal’s Immigration laws does not allow anyone to let foreign nationals without passport and visa enter, stay and leave the Nepali territory. It bars travel agencies and hotels from providing accommodation to foreigners without travel documents like passport and visa.

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Content with Oli govt overtures? India asks. UDMF says it’s bracing for decisive movement

India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar met United Democratic Madheshi Front leaders and inquired about the status of their talks with the government.
Though in Nepal to attend a meeting of foreign secretaries from SAARC member-states in Pokhara, Jaishankar was busy meeting political leaders on Tuesday. During his meetings with UDMF leaders, Jaishankar inquired about the status of efforts to reach an agreement with the government on UDMF’s demands and the front’s future strategies.
Referring to the KP Oli government’s claim that it has already reached an agreement with the front on all issues, Jaishankar asked UDMF leaders whether they were satisfied.
On their part, UDMF leaders said they were preparing for what they called a decisive movement. The government has been dillydallying and we are not expecting much from it, Rajkishor Yadav, chair of the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum-Republican, said. “We told him that we are getting ready for a decisive movement,” he said.

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37th SAARC session in Nepal: Expect rivals India and Pak to trade unfriendly fire over connectivity

An important meeting of foreign ministers from SAARC member-states is likely to turn into another forum where regional rivals India and Pakistan get another opportunity to haul each other over coal.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to convey New Delhi’s disappointment over Islamabad’s continued resistance to road and rail connectivity initiatives within the SAARC during the 37th session of the SAARC Council of Ministers, Indian media reported.
We expect these meetings to afford us an opportunity for a comprehensive review of decisions that have been taken across all Saarc forums over the past year-and-a-half. Our focus would be not only to take stock of these situations, but also to work out the way forward on priority issues where a coordinated approach is necessary,” Deccan Herald quoted Vikas Swarup, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, as saying in New Delhi.
“We also hope to review the state of play on agreements that were close to finalisation at the last Summit but could not be concluded.”
Leaders from the eight-nation regional bloc were close to inking three pacts during the 18th SAARC summit in Kathmandu in November 2014 – a Framework Agreement for Energy (Electricity) Cooperation, a Regional Railways Agreement and a Motor Vehicle Agreement for Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic.
But only the pact on energy cooperation could be signed as Pakistan Prime Minister M Nawaz Sharif maintained that his government had not yet completed internal procedure for inking the agreements for cross-border movement of trains and motor vehicles.
If signed by all the eight countries, the Saarc Motor Vehicle Agreement for Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic and the Saarc Regional Railways Agreement would have made it possible for vehicles and trains – both passengers and cargo – to move from one country to another within the Saarc region without any hassle.
New Delhi would also bring to the attention of the Saarc community how Islamabad had been persistently denying Afghanistan transit through Pakistan to India and other South Asian markets, officials told Deccan Herald.
The Afghan-Pakistan Transit and Trade Agreement came into force between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan on June 12, 2011.

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