Amity with all, enmity with none in foreign policy, says PM Oil

KATHMANDU, March 27: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has made it clear that maintaining friendly relations with all nations of the world is Nepal’s policy and principle as well.

In his address to chiefs of diplomatic missions here and Nepal’s development partners at the Prime Minister’s official residence, Baluwatar on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said, “Nepal’s motto is amity with all, and enmity with none and wants to become a good friend of all and we are determined to treating everyone as a good friend.”

Prime Minister said that Nepal would be guided by the principles of Panchasheel, non-alignment, UN Charter, international law, and norms of world peace in the conduct of its our foreign relations.

The head of the government went on to say that Nepal would continue contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security through its effective participation in UN mandated peacekeeping operations, adding that it supports the UN reform initiatives to provide equal emphasis on all three pillars- peace and security, development and human rights, and to make the world body more efficient, effective and responsive of the need of time.

According to him, the government is serious to ensure that the transitional justice process is fair and free from pressure and influences -both from within and outside the country and there are already two Commissions to deal with the issues. He ruled out possibility of blanket amnesty to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.

“We respect the legitimate interests of our neighbors and will not allow anything against them in our soil,” he asserted. 

The Prime Minister further added that independent foreign policy and balanced conduct of relations would be the hallmarks of its external engagements. “As the people of a country that was never under the control of any external power, we hold, more than anything else, the principles of sovereignty, independence and non-interference close to our heart.”

Promoting the image of Nepal as an inclusive democratic State at the international level as well as advancing the cause of Nepal’s socio-economic development will remain our two intrinsic diplomatic goals, pronounced the Prime Minister.

Rule of law will be at the centre of governance and will be pursued in an effective manner. We will also pursue a policy of zero-tolerance against corruption. Our aim is to ensure corruption-free governance- the PM explained the priority of the Government.

As he told the chiefs of diplomatic missions and donor partners, Nepal does not want to see its people exploited under any ulterior agenda. It will stand united and pull our resources together to defeat the forces of divisions and instability and work for the betterment of its people.

“There is no space for violence in our society. There might be some attempts from different quarters to disrupt our social harmony and cohesion under various pretexts. There might be some elements who believe in perpetuity of conflict and discord in our society,” said the PM.

Inclusive polity has been the true spirit of the Nepal’s constitution and it wants to implement it in earnest, he said during the meeting.

We cannot imagine sustainable peace and prosperity without social justice based on equality. Ours is a society full of diversity. Unity in diversity has been a Nepali characteristic and a primary source of our strength, the Prime Minister said.

We consider that by attaining economic development and providing means of implementation of human rights obligations create enabling environment for the enjoyment of human rights by all.

Nepal will always stand for apolitical and objective examination of human rights issues, the Prime Minister said.

Acknowledging the support and cooperation received from the development partners, he urged them to align assistance with Nepal’s priorities, respecting its leadership & ownership in the process and channelizing such support through government mechanisms.

He said, “Nepal looks forward to strengthening these relations at all levels of its cooperation,” adding that it enjoys cordial and friendly relation with both our immediate neighbors, India and China. RSS