' I am confident PTA will be signed soon'

Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey is confident that power trade agreement with India will happen soon. He spoke to THT’s Ram Kumar Kamat and Lekhanath Pandey on a host of issues. Excerpts:

Is Power Trade Agreement with India finally being signed?

There is no reason for not having a PTA with India. We need to adjust a few things and we are working on this. A deal is possible but we need to intensify our efforts to make it happen. I believe that we will finalise the PTA soon.

Several Nepali missions have been rudderless for long. Why so?

Ambassadorial appointments have been long overdue. The government wants to send more competent envoys, who can represent the country effectively.

Are there differences between you and the Prime Minister over names of would-be envoys?

We have no difference on the conduct of our foreign policy but we are yet to finalise some technical things. We have decided to have 50 per cent nominees from among career diplomats and 50 per cent from outside the Foreign Service. We are trying to appoint envoys to all vacated missions.

What is happening on the review of Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty?

This is not a problem but an issue. We need to take stock of the context in which the treaty was signed, what its contents are and in which context we are in. We have suggested modifying the treaty as per the new context. We need to go for a win-win deal.

How are the preparatory works for the upcoming SAARC Summit going on?

As far as logistics is concerned, the venue is getting ready, improvement of roads and beautification of the city are under way. We are procuring vehicles for the Summit. We are also trying to fix a venue for the dignitaries’ retreat for informal discussion. Pokhara, Dhulikhel or Kathmandu itself could be the venue. We are about to finalise the theme of the Summit revolving around connectivity.

Do you think SAARC will ever transform into, say, the EU?

The Indian PM’s invitation to the leaders of SAARC countries in his swearing-in ceremony was a good beginning. I believe SAARC will grow further given the positive ambience between India and Pakistan. By the way, if we think EU is problem-free, then we are wrong. There are a lot of problems within the EU but it has very good mechanisms to respond to these issues.

Both you and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala are taking part in the upcoming UN General Assembly. What will Nepal focus on?

We will raise the issue of climate change impact. This year we have witnessed increased loss of lives and property due to natural calamities. In previous years, we used to witness heavy rainfall in eastern parts of the country, but this time, we see this happening in the western parts. Has climate change something to do with it? Similarly, we will raise issues of population and urge friendly countries to invest in Nepal. As we are trying our best to graduate from LDC to a developing country by the year 2022; we will seek support and cooperation from friendly countries.

Any take on the modus operandi of our diplomatic missions to achieve the goal of economic diplomacy?

Change in working style and thinking is a must to achieve the goal of economic diplomacy. The performance of our missions do not correspond with general expectations. Sending one monthly report is not enough. Details of all work, how and why were the adopted strategies beneficial to the country should be clearly mentioned. Our missions have not met the government’s expectations, but we are trying to improve.

Source: THT