Nepal hosting 18th SAARC Summit: Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity

Introduction
The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was first time held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 8th December,1985. It is the economic and geopolitical organisation of  eight south asian countries. Its headquarter is located in Kathmandu, Nepal. Arjun Bahadur Thapa is the present Secretary-General of SAARC. The 18th SAARC Summit was successfully held and concluded in Kathmandu Nepal from 26 - 27 November, 2014. The motto of this summit was "Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity." The leaders having met at this Summit re-affirmed their commitment to the principles and objective of SAARC for ensuring the welfare and qualify of life of the peoples of South Asia. 

 The SAARC aims to foster economic state, self-reliance among the SAARC countries and also to promote socio-cultural development in the region. The 18th SAARC Summit held in Nepal basically focused on connectivity and energy sector. Connectivity includes establishing rail and road links among the member countries, and energy sector includes power or energy distribution among member countries. Well, Nepal having the greatest potentials for hydro-electricity can benefit from it if it can trade power among member countries. Bilateral and Multi-lateral co-operation among the SAARC member countries boosts the economic, social, cultural and political relations among the member countries.

Member Countries:
 India: India having the huge population of about 1.2 billion is the 4th largest economy in the world. India's Per Capita Income is about 1165 US dollars. Literacy rate of India is 74.04 per cent as of latest census. The 2nd, 8th and 14th SAARC summit were held in India. India shares borders with the all the SAARC nations (excluding Afghanistan) via land or sea. India has been an active member of SAARC. India aims to foster better mutual understanding among south asian nations through people to people initiatives. India helps in enhancement of trade and commerce of other member countries having the great source of investment.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, attended the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Pakistan: Pakistan having population about 186 million is the member country of  SAARC. Its per capita income is around 1,370 US dollars. It has the literacy rate of about 56 percent. 4th and 12th SAARC summit were held in Pakistan. It proposed to host the 19th SAARC Summit, which was welcomed by all the leaders.
Prime Minister of Pakistan,  Muhammad Nawaz Sharif attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal

Bangladesh: The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its population is around 159 million. It has the per capita income of 1,190 US dollars. Its literacy rate is around 57 percent. In addition to 1st SAARC summit, 7th and 13th SAARC summit were also held in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attended the 18th SAARC Summit.

Afghanistan: Afghanistan became member of SAARC in the year 2007. Its population is around 31 millions. It has the per capita income of about 193 US dollars. Its literacy rate is 28.1 percent as per recent census. Being the recently joined member of SAARC, it has not hosted the SAARC Summit till now.
President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani attended the 18th SAARC Summit.

Nepal: Nepal is the beautiful country. It has the population of around 26.49 million. Its per capita income is about 409 US dollars. Its literacy rate is about 65.19 percent as per the latest census. 3rd (in 1987 A.D.), 11th (in 2002 A.D.) and 18th(in 2014 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Nepal.
The recently held 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala hosted the Summit.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean with a population of around 20 million. It has the per capita income of about 3,170 US dollars. It is the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'High' in Human Development Index (HDI). It has the literacy rate of about 97 percent. 6th (in 1991 A.D.) and 15th(in 2008 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Sri Lanka.
The President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, attended the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Bhutan: Bhutan is beautiful and peaceful country. It has the population of around 753.94 thousand as per the recent census. The per capita income of Bhutan is about 2037 US dollars. The general literacy rate of Bhutan is around 63 per cent. Bhutan is endowed with the rich cultural heritage of Buddhism. 16th(in 2010 A.D.) SAARC Summit was held in Bhutan.
Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, attended the 18th SAARC Summit hosted by Nepal.

Maldives: Maldives is the smallest country in SAARC and also in Asia. It is the beautiful island country with least population of about 345 thousand. It has the highest per capita income amongst SAARC countries being 4,920 US dollars. The literacy rate of Maldives is about 98.4 percent. 5th (in 1990 A.D.) and 17th(in 2011 A.D.) SAARC Summit were held in Maldives.
The President of Maldives, Abdul Yameen, attended the  18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Observers: There are 9 observers for SAARC, Australia, Iran, Japan, China, the European Union, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States of America.

Achievements of SAARC:
Socio-cultural Achievement: Nepal utilizing its opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has uplifted the relationship with other nations of SAARC. The mutual understanding between Nepal and other SAARC countries adds a great value to the social and cultural framework of Nepal. The preservation and restituttion of  the South Asian cultural property and creation of SAARC heritage list were tha major agenda to focus on social and cultural aspects of South Asian countries.

Economic Achievement: The economy covers a wide range of area. The combined effort and commitment to achieve the South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) in a different phases was taken into consideration. 

The commitment towards facilitation of free trade in goods and services in South Asia through South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and removing the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) were major issues discussed into. 

The 18th SAARC Summit also focused on connectivity for linking the regions through road, rail and waterways.  

The 18th SAARC Summit focused mainly on poverty alleviation in the South Asian countries and also renew its efforts towards agriculture and food security. It considered the energy sector as the vital centre for development and welcomed the signing of SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation. The terrorism and other crimes were unequivocally condemned. The major emphasis was given on the effective implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism. 

Nepal, having got the opportunity to host the 18th SAARC Summit, has gained manifolds benefits. The tourism sector of Nepal got benefited from this event. Nepal got global exposure about its beauty and culture. The relationship between and among the South Asian nations was strengthened, providing various support to Nepal for its developmental works. 
It is the moment of being proud of our country Nepal as it successfully concluded the 18th SAARC Summit, and signified that it can move with the pace of the world in developmental activities. Nepal, our pride our land. :-) 

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Scope of Tourism in Nepal ( नेपालमा पर्यटन )

Tourism industry is the largest industry in Nepal.Nepal is a hotspot destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and people seeking adventures. Beautiful and historically important heritages and the weather conditions are the strong attractions for tourist to visit Nepal. Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, and the world heritage site, located in the Southern Nepal and other historical and religious heritages are the strong tourist attractions sites.

The highest mountain peak The Mt. Everest is another attractions for tourist. Tourist visit for mountaineering and other types of adventure tourism and eco-tourism. In the Nepal Tourism Year (NTY), 2011, the number of tourists had increased by 21.4 percent. The government of Nepal declared 2011 to be Nepal Tourism Year, and hoped to attract one million foreign tourists to the country during that year. The tourism industry is seen as a way to alleviate poverty and achieve greater social equity in the country. The government of Nepal has also declared Lumbini Tourism Year 2012 to promote Lumbini - the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

As per statistics provided by Ministry of Tourism, major tourist activities include wilderness and adventure activities such as Mountain biking, Bungy Jumping,Ziplining, rock climbing and mountain climbing, trekking, bird watching, flights, paragliding and hot air ballooning over the mountains of Himalaya, exploring the waterways by raft, kayak or canoe and jungle safaris especially in the Terai region.

Nepal is a unique destination for trekking in Nepal, hiking in Nepal because of its unbeatablee combination of natural beauty and cultural richness. The culture of Nepal is renowned all over the globe. The diversity and its friendliness is the major boon to tourism sector development. Nepal is a place of religious importance too. Many tourist visit for its religiously important cultural background. The Pashupatinath Temple, the world's largest temple of Shiva which is located in Kathmandu, attracts many pilgrims and tourists. Other Hindu pilgrimage site include the temple in Swargadwari  located in the Pyuthan District, lake Gosainkunda near Dhunche, the temples at Devghat, Manakamana temple in the Gorkha District, and Pathivara near Phungling.

With all the beauty, Nepal has the great scope for tourism sector. The carefully analysed investment in this sector will be much more profitable. The tourism industry hence enhances the country's economy. 

Prospects of Tourism in Nepal 

Nepal has huge possibilities in tourism. Nepal is famous for its natural beauty: the world's highest peaks, national parks rich in flora and fauna, snow-fed rapid rivers, unique trekking routes, magnificent lakes and friendly people. Nepal is also rich in its cultural and religious diversity.

Nepal is a rich country in ethnicity and cultural diversity. With 125 caste/ethnic groups speaking 123 different languages and following 10 different religions, makes Nepal a culturally rich country. The pleasant climate of Nepal and the warm hospitality and friendly nature of the Nepali people pleases tourists and they visit Nepal again and again. Thus, enhancing the economy of the country.

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However, the obstacles in rapid tourism development should be carefully catered. Nepal should focus on the  development its basic infrastructure like transportation, communication and accommodation to serve more tourists every year. The only international airport in our country impedes us from having unlimited access to global periphery. Tourist destinations being marketed ineffectively and unethically and delivering poor customer services puts negative impacts in tourism development.

Tourism industry is a vary sensitive and reactive sector. The problem of loadshedding for long hours, and concerns about hygiene and safety have affected the tourism sector widely. The better customer care practices and state of art infrastructure and facilities should be readily made available to win the hearts of tourists for better toursim business in future. Tourism sector has a lots of opportunities in Nepal. The geographical diversity is a great advantage in itself. The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will grow at an average annual rate of four percent, which means Nepal can certainly benefit from its tourism industry and assist in enhancing overall economy of the nation.

Benefits of Tourism Industry in Nepal
Various sectors and aspects of Nepalese life are directly and indirectly benefited from the tourism industry. It creates various job opportunities at central as well as grass-roots level. The promotion and conservation of art and culture is also assisted by tourism sector. There will be huge growth in economic activities and helps in expansion of various profitable business. Hence, by creating genuine focus on developing tourism sector our country can achieve highest economic growth.


Picture source: All pictures are taken from Google. Video from YouTube. 

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Are we really proud of ??

I belong to the beautiful land of South Asia, filled with lots of beauty and potentials. I belong to my lovely motherland NEPAL. Every Nepali citizen belongs to this beautiful land. Our country is full of potentials. It is our country, our motherland. We should care our land we should love our country. Not only in words and papers, we need to show our love from our deeds. Saying and doing are totally different. Our country Nepal has got its own uniqueness. It has got the admirable history. Everything in this land is admirable. Everything is beautiful. Every creature in this land is filled with enormous joy.

However, being beautiful is not enough for a country to develop and prosper. Actually, the beauty is getting ruined day by day. Various factors impedes the development. But in our country the main factor that sets impact on other factor is 'Politics'. Politics affects all the factor and plays major role in all round development in the country. Instability in Politics and lack of coordination among the different political systems is the major drawback today. It has affected all the sector in the country. We were hopeful after the election that now some changes would possibly take place in the country. However, change took place but it is 'negative' change.

Thinking and analyzing the facts it is sure and certain that the members elected who are representing their respective parties in the Parliament are doing nothing. They are not able to see behind their own personal selfishness. They are worried about their existence and their pride. No one is worried about the country's pride and existence. The condition is very critical. But no one is serious. They are just creating new baseless issues everyday. They are just creating obstruction for the process of drafting constitution. No one is there to draft a constitution but to pass the time as it goes on. Creating unrealistic issues has become just a time pass.

Time for revival has come. We should do anything we can do for significantly contributing for positive change in the country. We should start from our level, from where we are and with what we have. No leader is going to make developments in our country. If we want a true development, we should start from ourselves. We are the people and we have the right to rule the country.

Are we really proud of what we have today? What are we doing with our pride? Are we really making our generation as proud as we were someday? Are we really serious for bringing about positive changes in our society. Every individual start should from himself or herself. A change in each and every individual should bring a change in society and a change in societies brings the nation-wide changes. Time has come to start and move forward. Time has come to bring the positive changes within ourselves. Time has come my dear friend!!

We are the one to bring the positive changes and foster development. We are the one. Let's start from now.

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