Nepal celebrates its 8th Constitution Day

High Commissioner Haruna Manta of Nigeria, Ambassador Salih Omar Abdu of Eritrea and Dean of the Diplomatic Corp, Ambassador-designate of Nepal Dan Bahadur Tamang, Mrs Tamang, Ambassador Ntombizodwa Lallie of Dirco,  Chargé d̍Affaires of Nepal  Gyan Bahadur Magar and Mrs Magar (TDS)

20 September 2022

Nepal is and has always remained a sovereign and independent nation-state without being subjected to any colonial power in its more than two and a half centuries-old history said Chargé d̍Affaires Mr Gyan Bahadur Magar at Nepal’s Constitution Day celebrations in Pretoria, South Africa.

The country celebrates Constitution Day on 20 September as the National Day of Nepal and has been doing so for the past seven years in commemoration of the promulgation of the present Constitution of Nepal in 2015.

The adoption of this Constitution is a significant watershed, both for Nepal and Nepali people, for at least three important reasons, said Magar.

“Firstly, this Constitution has institutionalized federal democratic republican governance by ending centuries-old unitary governance system, and bringing the Government closer to the people’s doorsteps.

“Secondly, this Constitution has embodied all democratic norms, values and principles such as rule of law, independent judiciary, full press freedom, fundamental rights and respect for human rights, inclusion, and social justice for all, regardless of geographical, ideological or socio-cultural differences.

“Thirdly, this Constitution has materialized the deep yearning of sovereign Nepali people, since the very dawn of democracy in 1951, to have a truly democratic constitution through the Constituent Assembly.”

Magar also said that this Constitution set in motion the process of implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a decade-long insurgency in the country through a home-grown, nationally-led and owned peace process.

Ambassador Ntombizodwa M Lallie, Deputy Director General at the Department of International Relations for South Africa (DIRCO) delivering her congratulatory remarks spoke of the excellent bilateral relations between South Africa and Nepal which have been forged through strong bonds of solidarity, friendship and cooperation that date back as far as 1955 when Nepal participated in the Bandung Conference and expressed its firm support in championing the fight against Apartheid. “We are appreciative of the sterling role played by Nepal as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid,” said Lallie.

A group of young Nepali dancers entertained guests. Lallie congratulated these young women and wished them well on the pilot training program that they are currently undertaking in South Africa.

Magar said that nearly 41 percent representation of women in all three tiers of present Governments from Federal to Provincial to Local speaks a great deal about positive development towards materializing the vision of the Constitution to create an inclusive and equitable society.

Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, an apostle of peace and so Nepal attaches great importance to peace and peace values in its foreign policy, said Magar. It strongly believes in settlement of all disputes through peaceful means and calls on all parties at loggerheads to resolve differences through dialogue. Nepal is the second-largest troop-contributing country and stands ready to provide up to 10,000 Nepali peacekeepers at the UN’s call.

As countries all over the world grapple with the devastating effects of climate change, Magar said that Nepal accounts for a meagre 0.027 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but remains the seventh most vulnerable country, hit hardest by climate change impacts. “The Himalayas- a global heat sink, and a source of fresh water for over 1.5 billion people- is at stake. We are committed to implementing internationally agreed climate instruments including Paris Agreement in letter and spirit to better deal with this global menace. We have already embarked on ambitious climate action initiatives, aiming to reach a net zero emission by 2045.”

As the second-richest country in water resources in the world, Nepal is now almost self-reliant on hydroelectricity. “We are expecting to export over 14 billion Nepali rupees worth of electricity to India by the end of this year. As many pipeline hydel projects are being completed in a few years, we look forward to exporting surplus electricity to Bangladesh and other countries in our region,” said Magar.

Bilateral trade is significantly increasing between South Africa and Nepal, with a surplus in South Africa’s favour. There was more than R1.5 billion worth of bilateral trade in 2019, which slightly decreased to over R1.4 billion in 2020 and R1.2 billion last year due to COVID-19.
Lallie and Magar said that they look forward to the growing relations between the two countries and as tourism to Nepal steadily increases, Magar invited guests to visit his beautiful country.

TDS