Kathmandu, June 24: Former Foreign Minister and Nepali Congress lawmaker Ram Sharan Mahat today suggested that Nepal needed to pursue an activist foreign policy leaving behind the reactive policy.

Mahat’s statement came in the wake of comments from other parliamentarians that five villages in Banke district had been inundated after India constructed a dam across the border in the Rapti river.

“Had we been able to raise our voices against the Indian move before the construction started then we could have avoided the loss,” he told the House of Representatives meeting while discussing on the appropriation heads under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In an apparent reference to the “Nepal Game Plan” report that appeared in the website of India Today, Mahat said the Nepalese intelligence must speak out regarding the authenticity of the report.

“The government must react at the official level towards the report if it is incorrect,” he said.

Nepal needs to do some planning to define its foreign policy priorities in the changed context of the unipolar world order, Mahat said.

Mahat said since Nepal has prioritised economic diplomacy as an important tenet of its foreign policy, the indicators for the same must also be defined.

Budget has not been earmarked for consolidating the Foreign Ministry through training programmes for the officials. The training part cannot be neglected because without proper orientation and training the officials will not be able to develop competence, he said.

Mahat said the newly recruited officials at the Ministry lacked communication skills and competence to acknowledge the essence of diplomacy in the changing context of the world.

He also suggested that a separate service commission be set up for foreign services making a thorough review of the testing patterns and subjects for new entries.

Nepal must this time vie for the chairmanship of the UN General Assembly and the Economic Social Council and should lobby for its interest in the international community, he said.

Denouncing the claims of some parliamentarians that the government had failed to show any progress on the Bhutanese refugees problem, Mahat said, “We have moved ahead to address the issue and it is likely that the problem will be resolved after some vital steps are completed.”

He said that the government must open dialogue with India for the review of 1950 treaty and to resolve the territorial dispute of Kalapani.

Efforts should be made to hold the SAARC Summit at the earliest possible. Talks must be held with India to remove the 5 per cent duty, which it has imposed on Nepalese exports. This is against the agreed terms and conditions of the Nepal-India trade treaty, he said.

CPN(UML) lawmaker Raghuji Pant said the government had not formulated a foreign policy, which could protect and promote the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

He said the issue of reviewing the 1950 treaty with India had not been accorded priority. The issue of Kalapani has also remained stagnant and the government has not done anything to hold talks with India to remove the five per cent duties being imposed on Nepalese exports, Panta said.

He said sealing of the border with India and issuing of passports for Indians should be done to protect Nepal’s interest.

Pashupati Shumshere Rana of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said the country must formulate a foreign policy in keeping with the changed global order and must not allow activities to take place from its soil against any neighbouring country.

The foreign policy must also be oriented to define the country’s national security policy, he said.

Lila Mani Pokharel of the United Peoples’ Front Nepal charged the government of supporting India’s strategy of making the South Asian region its hegemony.

He said Nepal had been facing a lot of intervention in its domestic front from India.

Chitra Bahadur K.C. of the Rastriya Janamorcha said Nepal must maintain equal distance with India and China. He maintained that India had been interfering a lot in Nepal’s domestic policies.

Badri Prasad Mandal of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party said since Nepal’s relation with India carried a lot of significance, the government should exercise prudence while defining its foreign policy priorities.