Statement by Hugo Swire MP to a Press Conference in Kathmandu
4 Jun 2014 04:20 PM
I leave Nepal confident
that our relationship remains as strong as
ever.
“I have just spent a
fascinating, if all too brief, time in Nepal. I came here hoping to inject some
energy and vision into the UK-Nepal relationship in anticipation of the
bicentenary of our bilateral relationship which we will begin to mark next
year. I hope I have done that. My speech at Tri-Chandra College yesterday set
out my hope that the future of our relationship will be built around working
together for our mutual security and prosperity. I discussed these agendas with
Foreign Minister Pandey yesterday afternoon, and we agreed that while it was
important for Nepal’s political leaders to find common ground and deliver
a new Constitution, that alone would not be enough to guarantee the sustainable
and inclusive economic growth that the people of Nepal need and
deserve.
From my time as a Foreign Office
Minister and my travels to the main emerging markets I know that there is no
“one size fits all” solution or easy path to growth. The solutions
that work are almost always homegrown. But there are a few ingredients that are
common: hard work is rewarded and innovation flourishes when Government creates
the right environment. The right environment for Nepal would be a mixture of
political stability that incentivises investment in your energy infrastructure,
and a smart approach to investment and regulation that would let goods, people
and capital flow freely both in and out of the country delivering a boost to
competitiveness. With the appropriate policies to ensure the poor and the
marginalised are not left behind, a rising economic tide will lift all
boats.
I want to underline one message:
the UK, in particular through our Department for International Development,
will continue to make wealth creation and supporting Nepal’s economic
take off the core of our bilateral support to Nepal. In that context I welcome
the Government of Nepal’s aspiration to achieve middle income status by
2022.
Nepal’s peace process has
come a long way in a short time. I applaud the fact that, despite their
differences, the main political parties have come to an agreement to form
Commissions on Truth and Reconciliation and on Enforced Disappearances to begin
to deal with the legacy issues from the conflict. We know ourselves in the UK,
from the Northern Ireland experience, how politically difficult these matters
can be.
But I do need to spell one thing
out, and I have made this point to the political leaders I have met in the last
two days. International laws, endorsed by Nepal, state that certain crimes
cannot be amnestied. Nepal’s reputation will be safeguarded, indeed
enhanced, by choosing independent and competent Commissioners who will be ready
to recommend amnesty only where consistent with those laws.
I leave Nepal confident that our
relationship remains as strong as ever, and hopeful that after years of
instability Nepal will soon get the political settlement it needs to realise
its potential.”