Excerpts:
How has your experience in Nepal been?
I have been very delighted by coming to Nepal and have felt much welcomed. Coming to Nepal has been a very special experience and I regard Nepalis second only to Norwegians personally. I have spent over 20 years in this sub continent and I really appreciate Nepali people.
Nepal’s political situation is in transition period. What are your comments on this?
I am very much pleased that political parties are slowly moving ahead. I believe that we should have great respect for complexity of things. It has also been recognized that Nepal’s peace process stands to be one of the most successful peace processes ever in the world. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that not a single bullet has been fired after the peace process. The important thing is that the Maoist commanders are now being integrated in the Nepali Army. These factors show that Nepal’s politics is moving to a brighter side.
So, how do you assess Nepal’s economic situation?
We have to regret the fact that Nepal’s potential for economic development has not been tapped. Nepal has tremendous potential, basically linked to the hydropower energy areas. Hydropower is, in fact, the backbone of Nepal’s future, both socially and economically. Only 0.4 percent of the total commercial resources of hydropower have been tapped properly. The irony is that over 100 years have been spent in harnessing only 0.4 percent of the total capacity.
Hydropower is one of the areas Norwegian government has been focusing on in Nepal. What is your assessment of effectiveness of such aid?
It is a fact that we have kept hydropower as our top agenda here in Nepal and it is because the sector has core potential in the country. We are supporting the government here in building up the competence. The largest percent of hydropower related human resources in Nepal are educated in Norway. Similarly, we have extensive institutional cooperation between institutions related to electricity. In order to redefine and grasp the potentiality of different river sources, regarding the generation of electricity, various researches and programmes are being initiated by Norway. We also have a policy that supports the government in selling up transmission lines. For instance, we have invested in the transmission line from Upper Tamakoshi to Kathmandu, which is still an ongoing process. However, we are hoping to have a good development of investment-friendly environment in Nepal, so that foreign investors are attracted. Moreover, SN Power, a Norwegian company, is here in Nepal to invest in hydro and dialogue with the government is going on. They have shown keen interest in Tamakoshi-3 project.
What reasons do you find behind Nepal’s inability to meet its potentiality in energy?
The reason to be highlighted is the lack of proper investment environment for the private sector in the past. There has been no direct investment from government itself to invest a huge amount in the energy sector. However, it is a good thing that now the investment in energy sector has been made open for the private sector. The next thing required is a reform in the responsible institutions. NEA, being a largest body, should be reformed and it has to be effective as the responsible authority.
What is the annual investment of Norway in Nepal?
Investors are the private companies like SN Power. We are here to facilitate the people through grant basis. We are here to help stimulating processes and projects in coordination with the government. The budget spent is around 20 million US dollar. However, this is not the investment.
What are the other concerned areas of Norway in Nepal, besides energy?
We pay high attention to the education sector of Nepal. We conduct various educational reform programmes. I would also personally give tribute to the educational success that Nepal has achieved. The whole world has recognized the achievement. According to the figure, almost 95 percent of the children are now attending school in Nepal. Beside this, good governance is also one of our core areas.
