KATHMANDU : The 13th European Meeting and Second Knowledge Conference of the Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) has urged the parliament on the immediate need to pass the Act Related to the Non-Resident Nepalis’ Citizenship.
The conference held on October 3 and 4 called upon all the lawmakers and major political parties to pass the Act with the provision of connecting the future generation of NRNs with Nepal, reflecting the theme ‘once a Nepali, always a Nepali.’ The Act has been passed by the State Affairs Committee of the federal parliament and is now under consideration of the parliament.
The meeting and the conference were held virtually under the theme of ‘Skills and Knowledge for the Motherland, Our Campaign for Voice of Women and Youth.’ Various sessions as the 11th European women assembly, the youth conference and contemporary topics were organized as part of the conference.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, inaugurated the conference, which was attended by Nepali Congress joint general secretary Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, the Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel, NCP leader Dr Gangalal Tuladhar, Nepali Congress leader Gagan Kumar Thapa, Nepali ambassadors, the central leaders of NRNA, NRNA former presidents, and representatives of various social organizations based in Europe, including journalists and NRNs.
The Conference has urged NRNA communities to stay safe as experts have been warning of a ‘second wave’ of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe. It has also pledged to implement the agreement establishing a Rs 10 billion investment fund on behalf of the NRNA for Nepal’s infrastructure sector. The NRNA had proposed this fund during the Global Investment Summit organized by the government in 2019.
The conference has called on the government to remove legal and procedural hurdles in establishing the fund and urged Nepalis living in Europe to invest in it. A decision has been made according to which the NRNA and NRNs will play a special role in encouraging the use of Nepali products in their homes to increasing the export of Nepali products like handicraft items, pashmina, tea and coffee in the European market.
Likewise, the conference has urged the government to sign double taxation avoidance treaty and investment promotion agreements with as many countries around the world as possible in order to promote Nepal’s export and invite foreign direct investment into the country.
The Conference, through its 18-point decision, urged the bodies concerned to explicitly mention strategy for NRN tourism, stating that the NRNA is willing to work as a reliable partner for the revival of Nepal’s tourism in accordance with the ‘Tourism Revival Strategy’ brought by Nepal Tourism Board and the Government of Nepal.
The conference has urged the government of Nepal to accelerate the ongoing diplomatic initiative to lift the ban on all Nepali Airlines service, including Nepal Airlines, in Europe as soon as possible. It has also urged the government to establish a Nepali Embassy in Malta, Poland and Portugal of Europe to maintain the increasing number of Nepalis in such countries.
A decision has been made to request the NRNA Centre to launch a broader campaign by collaborating with government bodies and private sectors of Nepal to help provide employment to around 500,000 Nepalis, who returned to Nepal after losing jobs due to COVID-19.
The conference also urged the Government of Nepal to make an arrangement of free flights to those waiting to return home from countries, mainly women, sick, helpless and those facing financial troubles as well as repatriate stranded Nepalis before Dashain and Tihar.
It also suggested the NRNA Centre to set up a Regional Emergency Centre in all sectors of the NRNA. Discussions were held on the working paper presented by Nepali and Non-Resident Nepali experts in five subjects in the conference. Coordinator of NRNA in Europe, Narayan Acharya, said that the conference called for collaboration with government bodies, partners of intellectuals and research organisations of Nepal as well as NRN experts on topics such as COVID-19, climate change, renewable energy promotion, environment conservation and infrastructure.
