Looking Back, Moving Forward

Ko Everest rāua ko Aoraki ngā maunga.

Ko Hija Khushi rāua ko Muriwai ngā awa.

Ko Kathmandu te kāinga tupu.

E noho ana au ki Rānui ināianei.

Ko Pancha Narayan rāua ko Sanu Bhai ngā tupuna tāne.

Ko Uttam Narayan te matua.

Ko Hira Devi te whāea.

Ko Sun, ko Moon, ko Poon, ko Joon ngā tuahine.

Ko Ranu te hoa rangatira.

Ko Riya te tamāhine.

Ko Ruben te tamaiti tāne.

He Kaiwhakamahere Tāone au.

Ko Raj tōku ingoa.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

(I'm) looking back, (the waka is) moving forward. Photo taken in Waitematā Harbour on board a whale watching safari boat. Imagine my excitement, for someone who lived in a landlocked country all his life, to see the frolicking dolphins chasing the boat, and the sperm whale spouting streams of mixed water and air. While organising this safari, the telephone operator and I had a funny incident about his accent to do with 'viaduct basin', which I have recalled in the blog.

Sweet as 21st

24th September 2005. Exactly 21 years ago today, the Auckland sky was painted with a beautiful hue of azure. I had only ever once before witnessed this colour before in my life. That was from Kagbeni located on the other side of the Annapurna ranges. From this out of the world clear blue sky, the AKL bound Thai Airways TG 491 descended through the long white clouds. The craft touched the tarmac, taxied, and came to a halt at the Auckland International Airport. My wife and I disembarked. Through the jet bridge, we walked toward the baggage claim area. After customs checking, we headed out of the terminal. We had arrived in Auckland.

Kia Ora, Tāmaki Makaurau.

Spring was springing in its full bloom

The spring was in the air. Red, white and pink cherry blossoms galore. Young green shoots had just bloomed from buds. The tender new leaves were defying gravity to reach out to the sky as if to touch the sun. The air was crisp. As I walked along the suburbs, the air was filled with sound of lawnmowers and it smelled of freshly cut lawn. Birds chirped from the first light of the dawn. Days were getting sunnier and longer. Joggers had started to get off their trade mills and hit the pavements.

The first apartment I lived was on Mount Street, which is off Symonds Street and very close to Queen Street. I used to walk down to Queen Street and surf the internet cafés to access my email. Often I would have to wait to get my turn to hop on a desktop. Back then Queen Street used to be buzzing with all the touristy action you can imagine. Double decker sightseeing buses. Rushing backpackers shuffling around. Multiple lingo simultaneously peppered the sonic waves as you walk along the footpath. Caffeine connoisseurs patiently waited in queues outside cafés eager to get their hand on their lattes. 

In the first few months, I roamed around the streets of Auckland with the Lonely Plant guidebook in my backpack. With only primitive internet back then, this guidebook was literally my guide. Along with the guidebook I also had the wire bound AA street map of Auckland. Everything and anything had the air of novelty factor during those initial days. Especially, the Kiwi accent. Someone over the phone had to repeat ‘viaduct basin’ five times before I thought I understood the location they were giving me, thanks to the Kiwi accent. 

Bought in Thamel, this literally has blood, sweat and tears of my early years in NZ.

The highs and the lows

I had arrived in New Zealand to get away from the then on-going political conflict in Nepal. I was sad to leave my family and home. However, I was enthusiastic and was looking forward to building my new life in the land of the long white cloud.

Within the first month of arriving in Auckland, I was called for an interview for a project officer role in the ANZDEC, the consulting company who wrote the Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) of Nepal. I studied the APP as part of the course ‘Nepalese Agriculture Development Problem Perspectives and Strategies’ taught at the IAAS, Rampur by Prem Bhandari sir. While I made it to the final two but I did not get the job. Then started the hard yarn of burger flipping, telemarketing, phone surveying and door knocking. Thank goodness those $9.50 per hour minimum pay jobs. How I hated them all. But they helped me to keep me humble and grounded.

One day, one of the stores where I was doing the minimum pay jobs promised me managerial role if I stuck with them for long enough. This was a warning bell. I did not come to NZ for this. I wanted to utilise my studies in professional practice. My recently earned flash Danish Masters in International Economics was not helping me to land on any decent place here in Down Under. As soon as it became clear to me that without a NZ qualification, there was no chance of me landing where I wanted to be, I enrolled at the University of Auckland in 2006.

August of 2007, I landed on my first professional role when I worked with Chris Horne at Incite. (I'm naming Chris because he was my first real boss. I mean other than those bosses at the minimum pay jobs.) Incite was a planning consulting firm which processed resource consents for Telecom NZ to install the 3-g network. Chris was a good boss. I remember us going together to get coffee - flat white (I think) for him and Mocha. In our shared space, he used to make this long marathon conference calls with other team members based in Christchurch. I'll never forget the trust and respect he showed towards me when he asked me to brief case laws to him and another team member. He asked me to do the briefing, I think, was partly because I was at that time teaching the Planning Law paper to the B Plan students at the University of Auckland. That was a big and unexpected acceptance and acknowledgement for me. First time too that someone saw and believed in what I had. I never got a chance to express my gratitude to Chris about this. Incite was located in the building adjacent to where I lived on Dundonald Street. Although I did not stay for too long with Incite, Chris looked after me very well while I was there. He was happy that I was joining North Shore City Council. I think I even had him as a referee. One funny memory - I once freaked out when he allowed me to drive his VW Passat for a site visit. ‘You chickened out, Raj’, he jokingly said when I told him how afraid I was that I would crash his VW. After Incite, I joined the North Shore City Council. North Shore felt like home. I felt welcomed. The place made me feel valued. To this day, I have fond memory of the Takapuna office, my excellent bosses and my colleagues. How could I forget the uncountable management trainings, including in Wellington and Taranaki, and the O for Awesome Christmas party in Devonport. Those were the days before Super City. From there on I was fortunate to practice a profession I trained for and love. The rest, as they say, is history.

21 life lessons from 21 years in New Zealand

I need to write a book to narrate all the highs and lows of the past 21 years. Or this blog is going to be boringly lengthy. So, let me try to sum up one year in one sentence in no order of hierarchy or chronology.

1. Widen your horizon. (दायरा अली फराकिलो पारौं)
2. Ignore toxic people.
3. Shit happens, move on.
4. Think big picture, pay attention to details.
5. It's not about us, it's about the issues that matters.
6. Being busy is good, pretending to be busy is bad.
7. Take responsibility for yourself, make no excuses.
8. Respect people's mana, and you shall be respected.
9. We are, first and foremost, emotional human beings.
10. Learn how to hear, listen and filter noise around you.
11. Good health and peace of mind are worth fighting for.
12. When we become slave to parochialism, triviality reigns.
13. Having a horrible boss is the most terrifying thing in life.
14. Ideas that are worth will last despite the toughest trial of times.
15. People starting to criticise you means you are doing something good.
16. In the universe of our of life, people revolve around you on concentric orbits.
17. Smart phone and social media is dumbing us all down, killing our social life one scroll at a time.
18. If you are unwilling to swallow a bitter pill, your addiction to sweet poison will soon ruin you physically, mentally and socially.
19. In the pendulum of life people keep swinging between moving near and far, meaning important and non-important, and being closer and farther.  
20. Trying to change others is easy, that's why everyone does it all the time; changing yourself is the hardest, hence this is the most procrastinated task ever.
21. Before we complain about our life in New Zealand, we have to acknowledge where we came from, what we ran away from to be here, and how life was back then and today where we came from.

Fast forward 2026 and beyond

It has been few years since my hair started to turn grey. I have by now long forgotten the energy that fuelled my ambition to conquer the world. Instead of harassing my eardrums with too loud music, I get high and dry with genre that is mellow. If not news of people who have passed away, that of those mortally unwell soon sneaks into my conversation with friends and families. My principal job these days is driver of free Uber service to cater my kids’ endless pick up drop off demands. That's OK. I'm just doing what billions of other parents do. I am often busy doing voluntary jobs that of course don’t pay me. I don't know why I do them but if I did not, I feel miserable. I choose to spend far too long rendezvousing and getting carried away out of this world with characters of classical books.

In my journey of life, I am in a happy place today. A roof over my head, two square meal a day (दुई छाक दाल भात), a profession that stretches my intelligence, actions that satisfies my soul, and a few good people who I can turn to when I need. What more can I ask for?

I am grateful to New Zealand for adopting and accepting me. This land enabled me to rebuild my life from scratch. I raised my family here. I am who I am because I live here. I have no complaints. Only profound gratefulness that I can’t express in words. At times, triggered by trivial incidents, the emotions of gratitude come in a sudden surge. Out of the blue they hit without warning and overwhelm me more than I can handle. I would not want to be anywhere else. Kia Ora Aotearoa.

As the whakataukī goes, ‘he aha te mea nui o te ao? Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata’ (What is the most important thing in this world? It is people, it is people, it is people.) New Zealand has a bicultural legacy. As a recent migrant, I acknowledge that. I respect it. From the early days of coming here, I have felt an unexplained connection with the people of the land. There are many similarities between the Māori and Nepali peoples (this is even more so with the Newars of Kathmandu, which is my ancestry). We have similar skin tone, our looks somewhat match, our spoken language is consonant heavy, there are words that sound similar albeit they mean different, we have strong family and ancestral traditions, we revere nature and seniors, we have many and complex socio-cultural etiquettes. The list goes on and on. At a more personal level, I can't stop but getting goosebumps on the skin and tears in my eyes every time I hear the call of a karanga at a pōwhiri. First note and I instantly get connected to its haunting melody at such a deep level. I do not know why. I hold the mana of the Māori people with deepest respect. This continues to grow as I learn more about the peoples and this land. This does not mean that I do not acknowledge the role of the Pākehā New Zealand. The history is history. We can't change it. We have to honour the past and move ahead. Just the fact that New Zealand is the only colony where the Crown signed a treaty with the indigenous people speaks volumes about the two peoples who clashed in the history. I am no way any sort of expert in this topic but I bow my head to pay my full and due respect to the peoples who came before me in this land to make it their home - firstly from Hawaiki and after them from Europe. The Matariki dawn ceremony held at the Ōrākei Marae is a ritual I don't want to miss every year. Similar to the Matariki, I do not miss the ANZAC day dawn service held at the Auckland War Memorial. I did not attend those ceremonies from the year I came to New Zealand but once I understood the significance of them, I would not miss to be there. I strongly believe that new migrants would feel more sense of belonging towards their new home if they go to the two dawn services. It only takes an effort to wake up early in in the morning on those two days.

The bond and connection back to the homeland of the first generation migrants is a strong one. I am no different from other first generation migrants. I live with the psychological complexities of having to deal with the transplanting shock of leaving home and having to regrow roots in a new country. The emotional osmosis is yet to achieve a state of equilibrium. I doubt it ever will. At times it feels like I am in a transition - I have left Nepal but I have never yet fully arrived in New Zealand. However, this agonising feeling - that voice inside the head - has somehow somewhat become quieter in recent years. That doesn’t mean it has fully disappeared though.

After 21 years of living here, I feel comfortable to handle whatever life throws at me. The only thing that is hard to handle - from day one to this day - is the emotional toll and anxiety that comes with living away from my parents. I miss them terribly. I regret I am not there for them. How sad.

Over the past 21 years, am I disappointed? Do I have could haves and should haves? Oh yeah, tell me about it. If I could time travel, would I do any thing differently? I won’t change a single thing. What about regrets? Hell no.

Hindsight is beautiful but it doesn't exist. Crystal ball that gazes into the future exists only in fiction. From here on for maybe the next five to ten years I would love to do two good deeds. Firstly, I really want to be able to give back whatever and however I could to this place which has given me so much more. Way more than I actually deserve. Secondly, I want to be able to do decent deeds to raise the profile and mana of my people in this adopted home of ours.

Vi får se, på dansk.

Coda

Everything is in the right place.

Epilogue: Milestones in emojis Sept 2005 to Sept 2026

Decode, if you will, and have fun

• 2005 - 🛬 🇳🇿

• 2006 - 🏛️ | 🚘

• 2007 - 1️⃣ 🏢

• 2008 - 2️⃣ 🏢 ⬆️ 🌊

• 2009 - 🏡

• 2010 - 👨‍👩‍👧 | 🏃🏾‍♂️‍➡️ | 🫶🇳🇵

• 2013 - 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

• 2015 - ❤️ 🎫 | 🇳🇵 🫨

• 2016 - ☯️ | 🏠

• 2017 - 🛑 🏢 | ℹ️ 🧪 | 🎸 🥁 🌃 | 🗳️

• 2019 - ⛪ ❤️‍🩹

• 2020-22 - 🦠

• 2025 - 👵

• 🛫 🛬 🇳🇵 🇳🇿 - 2005, 2007/2008, 2009, 2011/12, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2025.

Glossary

The white script with red background on the top is my name in the ranjana lipi, the script of the Newari language, my mother tongue. Script courtesy of my brother in law, Mr Ashok Kumar Maharjan, who is a fluent reader and writer of ranjana lipi.

The opening sentences is my pepeha, which is a way of introducing yourself in Māori. It tells a story of the places and people you are connected to. Its translation in English goes like this.

Everest and Aoraki are the mountains.

Hija Khushi and Muriwai are the rivers.

Kathmandu is the hometown.

I live in Rānui now.

Pancha Narayan and Sanu Bhai are the grandfathers.

Uttam Narayan is the father.

Hira Devi is the mother.

Sun, Moon, Poon, and Joon are the sisters.

Ranu is the spouse.

Riya is the daughter.

Ruben is the son.

I am an Urban Planner.

My name is Raj.

Therefore, greetings, greetings, greetings to you all.

I am not yet fluent to orate my pepeha. One day, I will.

For meaning of other Māori worlds go to maoridictionary.co.nz

🙏🏾 🇳🇵 🇳🇿 🥝

Train, Train and Train: Riding the train of thought process in København, Tāmaki Makaurau and Kathmandu.

Tale of three cities

When København (Copenhagen) launched the fully functional driverless automated trains on 19th October 2002, I was doing my Masters at the KVL (now Københavns Universitet, The University of Copenhagen). In Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) the City Rail Link was officially opened among a fanfare of ribbon-cutting ceremony on 11th September 2026. Auckland has been home since 2005. My hometown Kathmandu does not have a single meter of train track.

City-bound train whizzes past at the Karanga-a-Hape station 33 meters underground. The sound, the vibration, and the vibe was mesmerising. The station design is a state of the art 'o' for awesome.

After 1990 Kathmandu gradually started to see increasing instances when the traffic would come to a grinding halt. The narrow and limited kilometers of street choked not only during rush hour but also during the off-peak hours of the day. The traffic woes haven't improved by too many miles despite widening of the existing roads and adding a few kilometers here and there. The additional road capacity was added mostly by widening of the existing streets of Kathmandu in late 2011 by the then Babu Ram Bhattrai led government. This additional capacity has been nearly neutralised by the sprawling metropolis. The monocentric city (having a sahar/bajar and basti around it) has by now evolved to be massively polycentric with each node developing itself into a viable mini city. There are 16 municipalities in greater Kathmandu. The population density and the ongoing sprawl of the city is simply mindblowing. 

Whenever I visit Kathmandu, it breaks my heart to see the suffering of the people, the loss of economic productivity, and the health impact due to pollution due to the chaotic traffic. I firmly believe that a viable public transport system such as a metro would solve this problem to a greater degree. It is getting late by day to lay down the tracks.

Public train service in Copenhagen began on 27 April 1847 with the opening of Denmark's first railway line connecting Copenhagen and Roskilde. Public train services in Auckland officially started on December 20, 1873, with the opening of the Auckland and Waikato Railway line connecting downtown Auckland (Point Britomart) to Onehunga. What were we doing in Nepal in the mid 19th century? We were busy killing each other and grabbing power. The Kot Parba, which heralded the ascent of the Ranas to power, occurred in 1846.   

The inception of the idea of a metro system in Kathmandu

When I was doing my Masters in Planning at the University of Auckland in 2006-2008, I got to study public transport closely. At every lesson in public transport, I would be transposed to Kathmandu with a vision to improve the city’s movements. My thinking process infected then by obsession with a metro system has somewhat subsided today but it continues to hit and haunt me at times. This hit me on the face again yesterday when I got to hop on the train through the brand new Auckland City Rail Link. The design of the  railway tunnels under the Central City is a marvel of technology. The aesthetics and functionality of the flash world-class stations are mind boggling. It is as if an air bender built it. It was worth the extra few billions that Auckland invested in its train system. 

After mulling over for years since the University of Auckland days, I wrote an article envisaging a traffic management model for Kathmandu in December 2011. The proposal in that article advocated that a metro would be part of the puzzle to solve the traffic mayhem of Kathmandu. The thinking process had progressed in discussion with late Ujwal Thapa and other friends who gravitated towards the movement Ujwal initiated.

Where are we today?

Before 2011 and since then many others have come forward with a number of proposals of a train system for Kathmandu - Metro, hybrid and over the surface - of all sizes and shapes. Feasibility and Detailed Project Reports have been written. A few advocates have taken it to another level and are to this day lobbying and investing significant resources to deliver a public transport system, including a Bust Rapid Transit and Metro. 

However, not a single track has been laid to this day. Neither it looks like there will be any in the near future.  

In my observation, Kathmandu chickens out whenever an ambitious project such as Metro comes up. Arguments against it go in circles around the tangents of difficult geology, exorbitant cost and lack of a population base to support a mass transit system like Metro. 

Where to from here?

There are engineering solutions to geological challenges. Tunneling technologies exist. The entire system need not be sub-ground. Parts of it could be over the surface.

Kathmandu has to bite the bullet and invest in the city’s movement. There is no other option. Financing can be sorted out. One financial model could be homegrown investment from Nepalis within the country and those living overseas. We don’t need another MCC to fund our mass transit. It could be a public bond or other financing tools. Nepal has to call; global Nepali will respond. Just look at the response when the PMO called for support after the Bhotekoshi flash-flood.

The argument that the population base of Kathmandu does not support a train/metro system is utter nonsense and bogus. Here are facts to prove it - København is a city of 1.4 million, Auckland 1.86 and Kathmandu 3 million.

Kathmandu must, sooner or later, build one or other form of mass transit if it is to continue as the economic hub. You don’t need any more 'needs assessment' reports to make a case for it. Enough of shuffling papers.

The recent political changes have handed a lifetime of opportunities to the current generation of leaders. The current breed of leadership have been handed the right political cocktail to show some spine and display political will to be ambitious and deliver projects like Metro in Kathmandu.

We have the technology, financing and viability only at an arm's length. What is lacking is for someone to light the wick to spark the idea.

Yesterday was the right time. The second best time is today. 

Be brave. Be ambitious. Just do something.

यो देशमा म एउटा मानिस खोजी रहेछु।

What will it look like if Nepal were to place Economic Diplomacy at the front and centre of its bilateral relations with New Zealand?

An edited version of this blog was published by the Nepal New Zealand Friendship Society of Canterbury on 13th April, 2026

INTRODUCTION

Economic diplomacy (आर्थिक कूटनीति) is one of the key foreign policies of the Nepal Government. 

Economic diplomacy, in a nutshell, is the use of a government's foreign policy and diplomatic tools to advance national economic interests, such as increasing trade, attracting foreign investment, and ensuring economic security. 

Diplomatic Missions, in Nepal’s case its embassies, are responsible for implementing and executing the government’s foreign policies in the respective countries where the missions are based and have their jurisdiction. The Nepal embassy based in Canberra has diplomatic jurisdiction also in New Zealand.

In this article I will discuss a few potential initiatives that should be achievable if the Nepali diplomatic mission in Canberra places economic diplomacy at the front and centre of its foreign policy in New Zealand.

LEGACY OF BILATERAL RELATIONS

Friendly relations between Nepal and New Zealand started in 1953 after the first ascent of Everest. Formal bilateral diplomatic relations between Nepal and New Zealand were established on May 1, 1961. Both countries to this day share cordial bilateral relations, mainly built on the foundation of Sir Ed’s legacy. 

According to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cooperation between the two countries involve development assistance in areas such as education, capacity building, and agriculture. In April 2015, New Zealand provided an aid of two million dollars to assist Nepal in the aftermath of the then devastating earthquake. Similarly, in May 2021, the New Zealand government supported Nepal through an aid of one million to help combat COVID-19. The New Zealand government continues to support the Himalayan Trust which has been providing its services in the Everest Region since the 1960s. 

Trade figures of 2015-2015 from Stats NZ shows that New Zealand in average exported approximately $50-100 millions worth of goods and services to Nepal, which increased to $200 millions in 2025. Import from Nepal to New Zealand hovers around $10 million annually.

Nepal contributes a substantial amount to New Zealand, albeit official dollar figures are not available, through the tuition and living cost paid by Nepali international students. According to a figure obtained from the MBIE by a New Zealand based Mt 8848 Football Club, there were 1,640 students from Nepal as at 1 March 2026. Even by a conservative estimate of each student contributing $20,000 a year, Nepali international students contributed approximately $23 million to the New Zealand economy. New Zealand recognises international education as one of its export earnings. From my observation, the flow of Nepali international students in New Zealand has been steadily growing since 2015. 

BILATERAL RELATIONS TODAY

Until today, both Nepal and New Zealand do not have embassies in respective countries. The Nepal Embassy based in Canberra has jurisdiction in New Zealand. The New Zealand High Commission to India based in New Delhi is also responsible for diplomatic relations with Nepal. Both Nepal and New Zealand have appointed Honorary Consuls in respective countries.

Appointment of Honorary Consuls of Nepal to New Zealand is a relatively new practice dating back to only a few years. The Honorary Consul’s office mainly provides consular services and promotes bilateral relations between the two countries.

I had personally met the New Zealand ambassador to Nepal, Patrick John Rata, in a business function in Auckland in 2025. During the meeting, my experience from brief conversation with the ambassador has been that New Zealand is keen to explore mutual economic opportunities, specifically in the areas of trade and investment. Prior to the then Foreign Minister, Winston Peter’s state visit to Nepal, I had written to the minister requesting to initiate dialogue about mutual business and trade promotion between the two countries. Following the state visit, the minister has replied to my message with a cordial appreciation of that advice. Prior to the state visit, I had also had a live interview with RNZ on the issue of promoting trade and business between Nepal and New Zealand.

FUTURE OF BILATERAL RELATIONS

The Stats NZ figure above clearly demonstrates that Nepal has a huge trade deficit when it comes to its trade with New Zealand. Although the dollar figure of the trade is relatively small, there are opportunities for the trade volume between the two countries to increase and Nepal’s deficit to decrease. Tapping the potential opportunity with New Zealand will only be feasible by placing economic diplomacy at the front and centre.

Fruits of a successful economic diplomacy might look something like those outlined below:

1. Seek more trade, less aid

1. We will see a shift towards an increase in trade of goods and services from both countries. Nepal’s trade deficit will decrease. 

2. The model of educational assistance through the NZAID will change from scholarship quotas towards student and teacher exchange offering mutual co-operation.

3. New Zealand has a good track record in good governance, disaster management, financial management, adventure tourism, agri-business, sports (mainly cricket), Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change. Nepal could engage Kiwi experts from those sectors, which has huge potential and need in Nepal. 

4. The Nepal government will send regular trade delegations to New Zealand to explore areas where mutual trade and investments can be initiated and increased.

2. Improve connectivity - Nepal Government would be exploring better air route connection with New Zealand by facilitating code-sharing with airlines such as Air New Zealand and QANTAS. I understand that Nepal Airlines is soon to operate between Sydney and Kathmandu. Such code sharing flights would make it possible to connect that Nepal Airlines flight with Auckland.

3. Negotiate respect based on economic contribution - Nepal Government will negotiate with the New Zealand government to ensure that its citizens who are based in New Zealand and are contributing towards the New Zealand economy are living a life of dignity and respect. Those include the international students and those in work visas. This will result in a lesser amount of cases of distress among the international students, and rightful pay and services for the workers.

4. Explore better opportunities

1. Nepal Government’s future endeavour must be to stop brain drain and to employ its workforce in Nepal, not overseas. However, for the foreseeable future Nepali citizens will continue to seek opportunities elsewhere. It is fair to say that New Zealand is a relatively better destination for the Nepali employment seekers. Nepal Government will explore the Working Holiday Visa option which allows Nepali citizens to work in New Zealand for a short-term.  

2. Nepal Government will seek opportunities for its high-skilled workforce in New Zealand. The learning and experience of those workforce would be a valuable asset for Nepal.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

As I outlined in the opening sentence of this article, Nepal already has economic diplomacy as a key policy on paper. It is now time to put that in practice. 

By the time this goes into publication, Nepal would have had a new government with a resounding majority after a mandate from a recently concluded general election. To unlock the economic opportunities with New Zealand (and the rest of the world), the new government must place economic diplomacy at the front and centre. 

To achieve tangible outcomes, each ambassador must be given a set of economic diplomacy key performance indicators (KPI) that they are required to implement in their countries of jurisdiction. Diplomatic appointments must be based on capacity to deliver on those KPIs, not a retirement opportunity for seasoned politicians. 

CONCLUSION

Nepal’s foreign relations is not only a matter of economy, it is also a matter of dignity of Nepal, Nepali citizens and Nepalis living overseas. When and if the Nepal government approaches its foreign policy with a focus on economic diplomacy, the tone and language of foreign nations will change. We would be seen and treated with more respect than we are today when we mostly approach foreign relations primarily based on aid.  

When pursuing economic diplomacy, Nepal must approach it on a win-win basis focussing on mutual benefits. Nepal must start to shift its narrative from what it has (for example, Everse and Buddha) towards what tangible opportunities it has to offer. Nepal must be able to confidently answer the question, ‘why would we invest in Nepal when there is India and China next door?’ 

It is now high time that we make a paradigm shift in our foreign relations from aid towards business and trade. For the sake of Nepal’s economy and Nepali’s dignity, we have to mean business. 

*****

Governance and Management: What and who?

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on 29th March 2026 briefed the bureaucrats (कर्मचारी), including the Ministry secretaries to catch-up with the spirit of the government. The Prime Minister apparently asked to stop lecturing Ministers and to stop making excuses citing legal barriers. 

In essence, the Prime Minister instructed the bureaucracy to play their role. This is a directive to deliver on the political promises made by him and his party before the election.

Image: onlinekhabar.com

The Prime Minister's directive should not come as a surprise or something new. Here is why.

In a well-functioning government, there are two mutually exclusive roles - governance and management.

The Prime Minister and the Ministers have the governance function. Bureaucrats are responsible for the management function.

Both roles must run parallel but separately for the system to function harmoniously. If they overlap, it will short-circuit the system.

The fundamental function of those in the governance role is to come up with a vision. For example, in this government's case, the Prime Minister’s vision, ‘I want to see Nepal smile’. The role of those in management is to figure out how to translate that aspiration into reality. For example, to decode what ‘I want to see Nepal smile’ means; what does it look like when Nepal is smiling; what actions should be taken and when to make Nepal smile, etc. 

The elected politicians, i.e. the Members of the Parliament, are the representatives of the people. The government is the administration mandated through the Parliament. As the leader of the administration, the Prime Minister comes up with a vision. That vision is a reflection of the people’s aspirations. The Prime Minister is accountable towards the people to deliver on that vision.

When bureaucracy works towards implementing the Prime Minister’s vision, they do not necessarily only just serve him in isolation. Instead, they take responsibility for being public servants. They implement the people’s aspirations that are reflected in the Prime Minister’s vision.

In his briefing, the Prime Minister merely asked that the bureaucracy be responsible i.e. to do what the bureaucracy and the state apparatus are supposed to do.

The Prime Minister's instruction is spot on. Bureaucracy should by default be doing what the Prime Minister asked them, without even having to remind. Bureaucrats are public servants. The public servants serve the people by serving the Prime Minister and the government under him.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party signed a contract and made a promise through the 100 point election manifesto with the voters. Following the resounding majority given to the Rastriya Swatantra Party by the voters the government is now accountable towards honouring the election promises.

As the leader of the government, the ultimate accountability is vested on the Prime Minister. The buck stops with him. That accountability is only possible from a responsible bureaucracy.

The bureaucrats must do what the Prime Minister has asked from them. No ifs. No buts.

(Based on my experience and observation of governance and management in New Zealand, and that in other well-functioning democracies)

चिट–च्याट विथ परदेशी: न्युजिल्याण्डमा नेपाली ब्यवसाय र यसका चुनैतिहरु

‘चिट–च्याट विथ परदेशी’ कार्यक्रममा वरिस्ठ पत्रकार रामहरी पाण्डे जीसंग भएको कुराकानी  

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