Kathmandu, June 14:Newly appointed Nepalese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Bala Bahadur Kunwar said today that Nepal and Sri Lanka could be mutually benefited if the two countries focussed on the promotion of tourism.
“Nepal and Sri Lanka are potential tourist destinations and it is high time we linked the Himalayas with the deep seas to boost tourism in the respective nations,” Kunwar said.
Sri Lanka receives nearly four and a half million tourists every year, the number of tourists visiting Nepal is also reasonably high. Efforts from both the sides to establish an air link and publicise their tourist destinations could bring significant economic gains, Kunwar said.
Nepal and Sri Lanka had air link in 1977, which was discontinued in 1984 after it was felt that the route was not commercially viable. Now the Sri-Lankan government is quite keen to re-establish the air link, he said.
He said that he was looking forward to create a congenial atmosphere for tourism promotion and promote bilateral trade with Sri Lanka during his tenure as Ambassador.
“I have had extensive discussions with the officials of Hotel Association of Nepal, Travel Agents Association of Nepal and the Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industries in the line of boosting bilateral trade and tourism with Sri Lanka,” Kunwar said.
Kunwar, an ex-lawmaker elected to the House of Representatives from Accham on a Nepali Congress ticket in the first general elections and an ex-officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs feels that the South Asian Region had not been able to collectively pursue the goals of economic development.
Poverty, unskilled manpower and inequitable distribution of goods and services are the stumbling blocks that have impeded development in the region, he said.
Kunwar said that both Nepal and Sri Lanka being the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) share the common view that the SAARC process needs to be reinvigorated in order to strive for a free trading block in the region.
On the future of SAARC, Kunwar said SAARC has a bright future and member nations must direct their efforts to hold the SAARC Summit at the earliest possible.
Provided that Pakistan seeks to open way for democratic elections as called upon by the world leaders and resolve its differences with India through peaceful negotiations the SAARC process would certainly gain new heights, Kunwar said.
“The state of Indo-Pak relations is the only bottleneck, which has stopped SAARC from materialising SAFTA,” he said.
On the crisis being faced by Sri Lanka, Kunwar said Nepal wishes to see the peaceful solution of the Sri Lankan crisis. Despite the civil war that has been going on for the past fourteen years, Sri Lanka has attained significant results in the development front. It is striving to attain the per capita income of US $ 1,000, which is one of the highest in the region, he said.
Kunwar is of the view that the significance of the Non Aligned Movement cannot be undermined in the new economic world order.
The landlocked countries in the world are weaker than their coastal neighbours. The NAM can serve to be an effective forum for the members to put up their views in the international arena and join hands to protect their rights, Kunwar said.