India’s NDC trainees hold interaction with Minister Sharma

KATHMANDU: A team of trainees from National Defence College, India held an interaction programme with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma in Kathmandu, on Monday. Indian Air Vice Marshal Tejbir Singh led the 19-member trainees in the interaction held at the Ministry of Finance on Monday. During the programme, the trainees inquired about the economic status of Nepal after the coronavirus pandemic subsided, Nepal-India trade, the possibility of Nepal-Bangladesh direct trade and the overall development of South Asia. In response, Minister Sharma said that all the security agencies, including Nepali Army worked on the front line during the pandemic. He also recalled that the local level worked very effectively along with security agencies. "During the pandemic, all the agencies and the local level did the most effective work," he said and added they have been placed on full alert like the army as nobody knows when does pandemic occur. The Finance Minister said that in order to deal with such a pandemic situation, Nepal will now move in the direction of becoming self-reliant economically. For this, Nepal has sufficient natural resources and manpower, he said and added that capital and technology will also be imported. "Nepal should be able to face any kind of epidemic and lockdown situation," said Minister Sharma. "We will introduce the technology developed by developed countries," he added. [caption id="attachment_28208" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Finance Minister addresses an interaction programme held with trainees of National Defence College, India at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, on Monday, August 29, 2022.[/caption] Likewise, Minister Sharma informed that coordination and discussions are being held between Nepal Rastra Bank and Reserve Bank of India to facilitate the 'money transfer' service between India and Nepal. He said that there is a multifaceted relationship between India and Nepal and a big part of it is trade. He mentioned that a large number of Nepalis work in India and vice versa. Minister Sharma also revealed that remittances worth Rs 200 billion go to India from Kathmandu every year and emphasized that remittance services should be made easy between the two countries. "Millions of Nepalis have gone to India and they also need a service that allows them to easily send money," Minister asserted. Regarding the question of conducting direct trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, he said that positive discussions are currently underway for power trade and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has also inquired about the port to be used for other trades. Similarly, due to Nepal's non-aligned foreign policy, it will not have a strategic partnership in the USA's State Partnership Programme (SPP), Minister Sharma made clear. "However, it will continue other commercial and military cooperation as the country has to assimilate its geopolitical situation and also the psychology of South Asia," said Sharma. [caption id="attachment_28210" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Indian Air Vice Marshal Tejbir Singh during an interaction programme held at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, on Monday, August 29, 2022[/caption] Air Vice Marshal Singh of the Indian Army thanked Minister Sharma for his ample time and interaction. The team led by Singh arrived in Nepal on Sunday. The team comprised of trainees from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. READ ALSO:

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