India Gifts 12 Bolero Vehicles

India gifted 12 Bolero 4-wheel drive vehicles to Nepal for expeditious implementation of Indian assisted large projects in Nepal, namely, construction of roads in the Terai area of Nepal, construction of integrated check posts and construction of cross border rail links and for monitoring it. The vehicles were handed over by Ambassador Jayant Prasad to Hridayesh Tripathi,  Minister for Physical Planning and Works, at a ceremony held  in the Ministry premises at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu.

Speaking on the occasion, Hridayesh Tripathi, Minister of Physical Planning and Works, thanked the government of India for according highest priority to the expeditious completion of ongoing connectivity projects in Nepal which would accelerate the economic development of the country.  

Ambassador Jayant Prasad expressed the hope that these vehicles would enable government of Nepal project officials to effectively discharge their responsibilities for the expeditious completion of these projects which would lead to  greater economic prosperity in the region.

Joanna Lumley Visits

Vice-patron of the Gurkha Welfare Trust Miss Joanna Lumley OBE is visiting Kathmandu to open a school, built under the Trust's supervision in the Western hills, to the memory of Captain Michael Allmand VC, Honorary Lieutenant Tulbahadur Pun VC and her father Major James Lumley,

The Gurkha Welfare Trust, a charity funded largely by public subscription in the UK, spends some NRs 10 billion per annum in Nepal. Its work, which encompasses individual aid, community aid and medical support, helps retired British Gurkhas, their families and communities.

India, U.S., Japan Welcome Progress In Peace

India, US and Japan have welcomed the agreement reached on 10 April 2012 on Army integration. The Indian government said it welcomed the constitutionally mandated Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) on taking forward the process of integration and rehabilitation of the former Maoist combatants in consonance with the past agreements. India also expressed the hope the Nepali-led and Nepali-driven political processes would be taken to their logical end within the time-frame agreed by the political parties, ushering Nepal into a new era of peace and democracy.

Similarly, the Embassy of the United States commended the people of Nepal on recent significant advances toward concluding the peace process. “The handover of the Maoist cantonments and weapons marks a milestone in this process, and we applaud the national political leadership for their determination and statesmanship at this crucial juncture,” it stated.

“As a long-term friend and partner, the United States strongly supports Nepal’s commitment to peace, democracy, and stability for all its citizens," said the press release of US Embassy.

Similarly, the Embassy of Japan in Nepal welcomed the latest political development on the peace process in which the major political parties reached a seven-point agreement to resolve, once and for all, the disputed issues on the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army. The Embassy commended the strong commitment displayed by the leaders of the political parties to achieve this breakthrough, which has given a powerful momentum to complete the peace and constitution legislation process within the stipulated time.

Millennium Challenge Team In Nepal

A delegation from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) arrived in Kathmandu for a series of meetings with the U.S. Embassy, Government of Nepal officials, and civil society leaders. The delegation is led by James Parks, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal from 1982 to 1984.

This marks the MCC’s first visit to Nepal since the announcement in December that Nepal was selected as eligible to develop a Threshold Program.

Climate Change Support Launched

The Ministry of Environment launched the Nepal Climate Change Support Program at the International Conference of Mountain Countries on Climate Change in Kathmandu. The first phase of this Euro 16.5 m (NRs 1,800,000,000) program aims to reduce the vulnerability of 2 million women and men in the Mid and Far West of Nepal where the impacts of climate change are already being felt.

The program, with funding provided by the European Union (Euro 8.6m) and the UK DFID (Euro 7.9m) and technical support from UNDP, will be the first initiative to put the Government’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) into practice. The EU is providing this financial assistance from the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), which was formed in 2007 to help Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Development States (SIDS) to integrate climate change into their development planning. As reflected in the May 2010 Joint EU - Asian LDC Declaration on climate change, the EU including the UK is committed to working together with the most vulnerable countries to mobilise political support for stronger action on climate change.

The first phase of the programme will focus on 14 districts in the Mid and Far West of Nepal which the NAPA identified as the most climate vulnerable and in urgent support need of assistance.