Boao Forum For Asia--

Statement by Hon'ble Kirti Nidhi Bista Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers His Majesty's Government of Nepal

2005-05-13 16:32

    Mr. Chairman,Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen:

    1. It is my privilege and an honour to be amongst you all today. I thank the organizers of this annual conference 2005 of the Boao Forum for Asia for providing us with this opportunity to meet with so many neighbours, friends and well-wishers of Nepal. I also would like to thank for the warm reception extended to us and the excellent arrangements made for the conference.

    2. I have been privileged to attend the previous conferences as well. Nepal has been represented in such annual conferences in the past. His Late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah attended the inaugural ceremony in February 2001 and addressed the session as a keynote speaker. Nepal will continue to remain associated with the Forum in the years ahead. It wishes to contribute to the extent possible to make this Forum a useful, effective and successful mechanism for sharing ideas and contributing to achieve its goals.

    3. The world we live in today stands at the crossroads. On one hand, mankind has made unprecedented progress and development. The advancement in communications technology today has surpassed our imagination. The increasing wave of globalisation, characterised by democratic pluralism and economic liberalism, has turned this world into a global village. On the other hand, we are facing a number of challenges, many of which transcend national boundaries. Such challenges include international terrorism, ethnic conflicts, money laundering, trafficking in human beings, weapons and illicit drugs, among others. We need combined and concerted efforts to effectively deal with the global challenges. However, we should think globally and act locally, as the saying goes. That is where the importance of this Forum lies.

    4. I think we all agree that our continent- Asia- is not only the biggest continent in terms of geographical size and population but also has made significant contributions to mankind in many areas. This continent was indeed the cradle of many of the world's older civilizations and cultures. It gave birth to many a scholars and artists and contributed immensely to the overall development of human beings- material, moral and spiritual development. Our region is the place of origin and nourishment of Hinduism, birthplace of preachers like Buddha, of moral teachers like Confucius, of Ibrahim and also of Jesus. The diversity among ourselves- among our countries and peoples- is, and should remain, our strength. Unity within diversity is the requirement today.

    5. Additionally, there are other challenges before us. The world is divided between rich and poor, and the gap is unfortunately widening rather than narrowing. Poverty alleviation is talked about very frequently, but we have achieved little success so far. Epidemics like SARS and Bird Flu still threaten mass killings. Diseases like HIV/AIDS and Malaria have been killing millions of people every year. Weapons of mass destruction are still a real threat. Ethnic tensions in many parts of the world, including our own continent, pose serious challenge not only to economic prosperity but also to social harmony. Globalisation has positive sides, nevertheless many small countries are being marginalised economically. Flow of capital and labour is being obstructed under this or that pretext. The world has still to do more to achieve equitable globalisation. Protecting our citizens from all these scourges and making their lives comfortable and meaningful is the challenge before us all.

    6. We are well aware of the problems facing us today. We need to be cognizant of our strength and shortcomings. Availability of capital is not the only problem for us. We have to work together to realize the aspirations of our peoples to live a dignified life. We have to improve the quality of life of our people through sustainable development. We have to launch effective fight against terrorism, the ugliest of all social ills, which has posed the greatest threat to human beings. This menace knowing no geographical bounds has been inflicting tremendous damage to our social values. People's precious lives have been lost in a more brutal form as terrorists abide by no humanitarian law. We very much need coordinated efforts to deal with terrorism and provide security to mankind. Without security no human freedoms can be enjoyed.

    Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:

    7. Our threats are interconnected, so are our opportunities and strength. We all are interdependent. Therefore, we, the peoples of Asia, have to work closely together, help each other, and share our expertise and experiences. We have to work for the development of our region, and, at the same time, contribute in any way we can to ameliorate the situation of the peoples in other regions. Guided by our desire to promote regional integration in South Asia, we have formed the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC)-with an objective of, among other things, promoting welfare of the peoples and improving the quality of their lives. Equally being desirous of promoting economic well being of the common people we have also become a part of new sub-regional initiative, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. It is our conviction that both regional or sub-regional initiatives can help us develop our complementarities to better harness the potentialities amongst us for the benefit of our people. We hope to achieve these objectives through collective efforts, which, in turn, will contribute to promotion of inter-regional cooperation.

    8. I would like to take this opportunity to make clear to our friends and neighbours at this Forum our sincere and honest efforts made under the dynamic and strong leadership of His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev to restore peace and order in my country and reactivate constitutional process to strengthen multiparty democracy. His Majesty King was compelled to undertake bold steps on February 1 this year which he did to fulfill his constitutional obligation. Nepal for about a decade has been passing through a difficult phase in history marred by violence. This has arisen due to insurgency launched by armed rebels, whose activities amount to nothing but terrorism. Almost 11000 precious lives of Nepalese have been lost by now. Because terrorism is a menace that knows no acceptable definition and boundaries so far, the country has suffered a lot in terms of lost lives and property. His Majesty's latest move is to face the challenge posed by terrorists and to restore peace and security in the country. Without having minimum stability no functioning democracy can exist. Therefore, His Majesty has clearly spelt out the objective of conducting elections for reactivating multiparty democracy as per the Constitution of the country once conducive environment is created by establishing peace. And the process has started with the announcement in His Majesty's new year's message earlier this month to hold municipal elections within a year. We express our sincere thanks to our friends for their understanding and support. We are also confident that support and understanding from the international community would continue to help us realize the objectives of consolidating constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy in Nepal expeditiously.

    9. The world-situation was not much different in 2001, when Boao Forum for Asia was established here, from that of today. The Forum's architects had well understood the situation and suggested the establishment of this Forum. This Forum is a well-thought out meeting place for present and former leaders from areas including governments, academics, businesses and civil society. This meeting of minds, we believe, results in the convergence of interests, and thereby in common plans and joint actions. This common Forum of ours will certainly be a melting pot of different ideas, and will help us in charting a common course for the betterment of all human beings. Nepal remains effortful to contribute towards this end.

    Thank You!

Source: Boao Forum For Asia