Embassy of Nepal, Dhaka, 20 September 2022
Hon. Minister of Agriculture His Excellency Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque,
Chief Guest of Today’s Programme,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
Acting Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh
General Officers from Bangladesh Armed Foreces
Excellencies, Ambassadors and Heads of Mission,
Colleagues from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and
Senior Government Officials,
My Fellow Nepali Nationals Living in Bangladesh,
Friends from Media, and
Distinguished Guests
Namaste, As-salamu Alaykum, Subho Sandhya, and Good Evening!
It is my honour and pleasure to welcome you all this evening as we celebrate Nepal’s National Day.
Please accept my warm greetings and profound gratitude for your presence.
This is the first major event I am hosting since my arrival in Dhaka over one and half months ago. And, I feel so pleased to welcome and meet you all in-person.
Thank you so much for your love, goodwill and support towards Nepal and Nepali people.
Excellencies, and
Distinguished Guests,
You may know, Nepal is one of the oldest nation states in the world and has always remained independent. Nepal is known for many things:
- For our unique flag,
- For Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world,
- For Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha and an apostle of peace and compassion,
- For beautiful landscapes,
- For a rich tapestry of cultures and traditions, and
- Most importantly, for the people with widest smile!
However, as you may have inferred (at least to some extent) from the video played a while ago, today’s National Day is more about Nepali people’s sacrifices and struggles for democracy.
We had to struggle for decades to achieve democracy. And our struggle culminated in 2015 with the promulgation of a new constitution.
Hence this day, also called the Constitution Day, marks that ‘eureka moment’ in Nepal’s history which materialized people’s long cherished aspirations to have a constitution written by their elected representatives.
It was:
- A moment that marked the successful conclusion of Nepal’s eight-year long peace process,
- A moment that institutionalized the democratic gains with proportional representation and social inclusion at the core,
- A moment that signified our ability to resolve the country’s internal problems by ourselves, and
- A moment that had Nepali people’s aspirations for peace, stability and development renewed.
With the political issues settled, democratic process has been a smooth sailing since then.
Periodic elections have been ensured. We held the second cycle of the local elections in May earlier this year and we all set for the federal and provincial parliamentary elections to be held on the 20th of November.
Our focus now is on building on these democratic gains and achieving the overall socio-economic development.
Distinguished Guests,
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Nepal and Bangladesh.
Over the years, this relationship has developed on the basis of friendship, cooperation, and mutual respect. Our relations have evolved organically and in a spirit of good neighbourliness.
Far beyond the formal diplomatic ties, our two countries have deep-rooted linkages between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal, between hills and plains, and between markets and minds.
Our relations even date back to times before Bangladesh’s liberation war.
Nepal was the seventh country to recognize the independent Bangladesh.
At the political level, regular exchange of high-level political visits has immensely helped elevate these relations to a new height.
Our economic ties have been growing steadily.
Nepal and Bangladesh are like the two ‘schoolmates of development’. We share similar opportunities and challenges and have always supported each other in the pursuit of our development aspirations.
We work closely in the regional and international forums, such as SAARC, BIMSTEC, United Nations, Non-aligned Movement, and Group of 77 and China, among others.
We also work together in galvanizing global partnership for sustainable development goals, climate action, and disaster and crisis management, to name a few.
We have always been among the top troops and police contributing countries in UN peacekeeping. The fact that Bangladesh and Nepal are currently the first and second in the list of such countries speaks volumes of our contribution to global peace and security.
Nepal is happy to see Bangladesh achieve remarkable socio-economic progress over the years. This has also been evident in Bangladesh’s effective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We thank Bangladesh for its valuable medical support to Nepal in the times of urgent need in our battle against the pandemic.
Excellencies,
The foundation of this excellent bilateral relations is built on the tremendous goodwill and close contacts between the peoples of our two countries.
However, we must realize that the closer the people are, the higher the expectations will be, and more impatient the people can get quickly.
It is not least in this light that we must intensify our efforts with more focus on consolidating economic ties.
We must do so by enhancing trade and investment linkages.
Bilateral negotiations on preferential trading arrangement and investment protection are underway. I hope, we will be able to reach a mutually agreeable solution sometime soon.
We are encouraged by the recent developments in energy sector. Given Nepal’s hydropower potential and Bangladesh’s energy needs, we have an opportunity to make the prospects of this win-win cooperation a reality.
Also, enhanced connectivity including through roads, railways, airways, and transmission lines, is critical for a long-term and sustainable economic partnership. Currently, two airlines – Biman Bangladesh and Himalayan Airlines – are operating direct flights between our two capitals.
I am confident that the conclusion of the ongoing BBIN negotiations on cargo and passenger vehicle movement will be a milestone for seamless road-connectivity.
Tourism is another sector with vast potentials. Our two countries offer unique touristic products- be it in mountains and soothing climatic condition of Nepal, or the longest sea beach of Cox’s Bazaar and mangrove forests of Bangladesh.
Unfortunately, travel and tourism sector was hit hard by the pandemic.
Now, that the pandemic seems to have slowed down, we must revive our tourism linkages.
Finally, both Nepal and Bangladesh are graduating from the LDC category by 2026.
As we ramp up our preparations, we need to our share experiences and best practices, and create a sound basis for more robust cooperation at bilateral, sub-regional, regional, and multilateral levels for smooth and sustainable graduation.
I know, realizing these potentials and translating our shared vision of prosperity into action is easier said than done. But as Jibanananda Das, one of the great poets in Bengali language said, [and I quote:]
যদি থাকে বন্ধুর মন গাং পাড় হইতে কতক্ষন —জীবনানন্দ দাশ
(jadi thākē bandhura mana
gāng pāṛa ha'itē katakhan )
Which means: If there is a friend’s hand, it will not take time to cross the river.
So, we must hold each-other’s hand and rise to our responsibility to build a stronger partnership. As we look for another 50 years of Nepal-Bangladesh relations and beyond, we will only need to chart out a concrete plan of action keeping the aspirations of our peoples where they belong.
At the centre of our resolve,
At the centre of our vision, and
At the centre of our action.
Before I conclude, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the women’s team and the people of Bangladesh on their well-deserved and historic win in the Women SAFF Football Championship final held in Kathmandu yesterday.
Once again, I express my sincere gratitude to Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Ministers, Ambassadors and Heads of Mission, and all of you for your presence today.
I wish all my fellow Nepali nationals and friends of Nepal a very happy National Day!
Long live Nepal-Bangladesh relations!
नेपाल बंगलादेश सम्बन्ध अमर रहोस !
নেপাল-বাংলাদেশ সম্পর্ক দীর্ঘজীবী হোক !
I thank you for your attention.