‘I
Am Anxious That We Should Expand Our Business Relations’
—
Robin Cook
Robin
Cook was appointed the British Foreign Secretary in May 1997. Cook was born in 1948 and
received education from Aberdeen Grammar School. He represents the Scottish Livingstone
constituency in the Parliament. Cook has held a number of positions including shadow
foreign secretary from 1994-1997 when his Labor Party was in the opposition. He is a
member of labor national executive committee and chair of its national policy forum. In
October 1990, he even became the Chair of the Labor Party. On the eve of his maiden visit
to Nepal, ROBIN COOK gave an exclusive interview to SPOTLIGHT where he talked at length
about the exisiting cordial relations between the two countries and the need to expand the
relations further to boost the trade ties. Excerpts:
How would you define the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the United
Kingdom in the changed global context?
Britain and Nepal have a long-standing relationship. For
more than a century Britain was Nepal's only international partner, but today, through
globalisation, we are members of a wider international community. Long-standing
strands in our bilateral relationship ñ Gurkhas, the links between our royal families,
our bilateral development programme ñ remain important, but we are modernising these
ties. I am anxious that we should expand our business relations, and also that a
larger number of the best young Nepalese students should join British colleges and
universities, following Prime Minister Tony Blair's initiative last year to attract more
overseas students to the UK. We have been delighted to see Nepal performing an
increasingly important role in UN peacekeeping, and that Nepal was recently elected Chair
of the UN Human rights Commission in Geneva. Peacekeeping and Human Rights have long
been major British priorities.
How do you foresee the future of Gurkha recruitment into the British Army in
the coming years?
Under the 1947 Tri-Partite Agreement (TPA) between Nepal, India
and the UK, Gurkhas remain an integral part of the British Army and will remain so.
Their contribution is a valuable and highly regarded one, as has been demonstrated by
their operational deployments in the Balkans and East Timor.
Annual Gurkha recruitment has increased from 159 in 1998 to 230 in 1999.
Gurkhas serve in a variety of roles, mainly in the infantry but with significant
numbers of Engineers, Signallers and Transport specialists. There are, at present,
3413 Gurkhas in the British Army, 72 based in Nepal, 915 in Brunei and 2426 in the UK.
Do you think the demands of the Gurkhas to be treated at par with the British
are justified?
The TPA enables Gurkhas troops to be deployed in the British and
Indian Armies on a comparable basis. A revised package of Terms and Conditions of
Service (TACOS) was implemented in 1997 when Britain replaced Hong Kong as the Gurkhas'
Home Base. Under these revised TACOS, British Gurkhas' net income is in line with
that of comparable British Servicemen, taking account of the cost of living outside Nepal.
Other welfare related allowances for Gurkhas, and special allowances while on
operational duty, are of the same order as their British counterparts.
The Gurkhas think they have been denied their just pensions and
compensations. What do you say?
The vast majority of British Gurkhas, both serving and retired,
have welcomed the recent increases to pensions and gratuities and consider we have reached
a fair and equitable settlement.
In many respects the pensions paid to Gurkhas are more flexible than those
paid to British Servicemen. All those who complete 15 years service are entitled
to an immediate pension, up to 100% of the pension can be passed on as a family
pension to a soldier's widow and then to unmarried children up to the age of 25 years.
British Gurkhas pensions are index linked in line with the cost of living in Nepal
from the 15-year point.
The recent examination of Gurkha pensions gratuities resulted in substantial
increases for all 25,500 British Gurkha pensioners while remaining within the terms of the
TPA. This at least doubled the value of Gurkha pensions.
How do you visualise the future of SAARC?
SAARC holds considerable potential for the countries of the
region as a forum for increasing co-operation. I would like to see it develop for
consultation and collaboration in a whole range of fields where South Asian countries face
common challenges.
When the two feuding neighbours in South Asia have become nuclear powers,
don't you think the concerns of the smaller nations around are genuine?
It is right for neighbouring countries to be concerned, and it
is best for countries to express that concern by calling for restraint and a return to
dialogue.
With the emphasis you continuously lay on democracy and human rights, how can
you help set up good governance in third world democracies like Nepal?
Respect for human rights and good governance are as relevant in
developed as developing countries. Britain funds a range of programmes and
activities to help support good governance in Nepal. The Enabling State Programme
for Nepal, recently approved by DFID, is a case in point.
How do you observe the democracy and human rights situation in Nepal?
Constitutional democracy in Nepal is relatively new, and
problems in both the processes of democracy and development are understandable. But
the reports of widespread abuses of human rights ñ including barbaric attacks by the
insurgents themselves ñ are a matter of serious concern. These abuses have been
examined and reported on at length by Amnesty International and other international
observers. I certainly look forward to discussing these with the Nepalese Government
during my visit. I shall be particularly interested to hear what progress is being
made in the Government's attempts to reach a negotiated settlement with the insurgents.
Won't you agree the concerns the western world expresses for the more than
three billion deprived people of the world looks hypocritical?
Britain has a clear record in promoting democracy and
development among the world's poorest countries. The New Labour Government has been
in the vanguard of such efforts. The British Government's White Paper on Development sets
an ambitious goal of "Eradicating World Poverty". It sets a specific
target of reducing poverty by 50% by 2015. This means lifting almost one billion
people out of poverty in the next 15 years. The British Government believes this
ambitious target is achievable but only if there are greater efforts by all parties to
take the necessary reform initiatives. Globalisation is a reality. The
challenge is to manage globalisation in a way that is equitable and sustainable. The
British Government is now developing a new White Paper to assess the impact of
globalisation on poverty so we can improve our understanding of how the international
system can work collectively to try to maximise the benefits.
‘Food
Production Is Not Keeping Pace With Population Growth’
—
Winston Ruthven Rudder
WINSTON
RUTHVEN RUDDER - Representative of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations for the Kingdom of Nepal says the country needs to adopt more environment-friendly
agriculture development programs. He spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on various issues of
agriculture and FAO's involvement in the country. Excerpts:
What has been the role of FAO in Nepal?
Nepal and FAO have had a rich and mutually beneficial
relationship lasting almost fifty years. In fact, Nepal joined FAO on November 27,
1951 even before it became a member of the United Nations. Over that period, FAO has
initiated a number of pioneering development activities in Nepal including community
forestry development. In the agriculture sector, FAO has been continuously involved in
efforts to enhance productivity and diversify production in environmentally sustainable
ways. The Organization facilitated the early development of the dairy industry and
vegetable production and marketing, including the production of vegetable seed. The latter
constitutes one area (together with fruit production) where Nepal can make tremendous
progress. FAO has also assisted in promoting decentralized agricultural planning in
addition to supporting extension and research development.
What is your impression on Nepal's agriculture prospects?
There is a need to introduce and adopt more environment-friendly
approaches to agricultural development, given the fragility of the ecology, the need to
conserve the rich but vulnerable biodiversity and the concern for human health. In this
regard, HMGN must be commended for adopting integrated pest management as a very important
aspect of agricultural policy and practice. Sustained agricultural production is
fundamental to Nepal's development. The focus here needs to be on increasing productivity
Accordingly the application of appropriate technology - water management, judicious use of
fertiliser, good quality seed - backed up with efficient supporting service delivery -
research and extension, credit, marketing - and reliable infrastructure -roads especially-
constitutes a package which is essential for realising the agricultural potential of this
country. This is spelled out in the Agriculture Perspective Plan. But it requires more
detailed elaboration at the district, village and community levels. Here is where the
policy position as enunciated in the Local Self Governance Act and regulations will assist
significantly.
On balance Nepal possesses a range of agro-ecological niches that permit
diversified agricultural production - fruits included. Additionally its relative
remoteness and isolation provide comparative advantage for certain types of production
systems - organic farming, quality vegetable seed production. The challenge remains to
match these supply advantages with market oopportunities. Insofar as basic food production
is concerned, the evidence from HMGN/FAO collaboration in the Special Programme for Food
Security -SPIN - indicates that there is tremendous scope for enhancing productivity of
all the major cereal grains with the application of available and known technological
practices. The APP provides the basis for expanding on this.
What about the condition of food security?
It is acknowledged that the relatively poor performance of the
agricultural sector - in light of its importance to rural employment and livelihoods
-constitutes a major underlying cause of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition in
Nepal today. The stark reality is that while agricultural production has increased,
agricultural productivity has not. Nepal turned into a net food importer from a net
exporter in the last two decades. Food production has not kept pace with population
growth. So we must tackle the problem from both the supply and demand sides. On the one
hand we need to increase agricultural productivity. The several measures and approaches to
address this fundamental issue are clearly outlined in the APP. Our own experience here
leads us to concur with the focus on increased food production. However there is need to
tackle the food insecurity situation by targetting marginalized and vulnerable farmers and
communities, especially the women farmers, directly. To do this effectively we must know
who they are, where they are located, the characteristics of their situation and the
opportunities. We are currently engaged with our sister UN agency, WFP, and NPC in looking
into the scope of adopting a Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information Mapping System
to assist in the process of targetting more accurately. Additionally, the conditions must
be created for developing non-farm income generating activities in the rural areas. But as
much as there is need to increase food supply and accessibility, the adoption of
responsible family planning practices to mitigate the exploding population growth is also
key. In this regard, education can be a formidable ally. It can also be very effective and
instrumental in enhancing the productivity of the agricultural sector.
Does Nepal have potential for vegetable production?
Nepal does have potential in the area of vegetable production.
There has been a remarkable upsurge in domestic vegetable production within the last few
years catering to local and tourist consumption needs. There is scope for considerable
expansion here. Since the country has a diverse environment, it can produce many
off-season vegetables even for nearby export markets. That said, the challenges are
many but remain more policy related and managerial/entreprenuerial than purely technical.
What could be done to realize those potentials?
The undoubted potential for improving agricultural production
and enhancing food security in Nepal demands first of all greater involvement of farmers,
both women and men, agroentreprenuers and other key stakeholders including the
decentralised institutions in all aspects of sectoral development. This is current HMGN
policy and must become effective practice. The operationalisation of the APP - the
framework strategy - will require more detailed elaboration of activities and actions at
the district and sub-district levels and a higher and deeper level of coordination amongst
key participating ministries and agencies. In addition, far greater attention must be
placed on human resource development for enhancing production and productivity and also
for improving market information and intelligence. |
