A unique opportunity to collaborate

The Nagadhunga project is an infrastructure project costing 22 billion rupees, in which Japan has provided three-fourths of highly concessional loan assistance to the Government of Nepal. This is Nepal's first road tunnel, after completion of its finishing (inner slopes, plastering, installation of equipment) will greatly improve the traffic in the area. It will also play an important role in promoting the local economy. Congratulations to all those who have faced many difficulties to reach this moment.

It is a challenging task to construct a tunnel in mountainous and mountainous regions with complex geographical sections. Unexpected floods and landslides occurred several times during the extremely difficult excavation of emergency and inner sections of the main tunnel. Landslides outside the tunnel following heavy rains and the Covid-19 pandemic delayed construction. In addition, human factors such as timely supply of construction materials and demand from local communities also affected construction. In such a background, we participated in the construction of the tunnel by imbibing the experience of the Sindhuli road construction known as the BP highway of Nepal. With the belief that it will definitely benefit the Nepali people in the future, the Japanese company is continuing the construction work facing the technical challenges. It is also a unique opportunity for Nepali engineers working with Japanese companies in this project to transfer Japanese high technology. The words of the Japanese project chief, who said in the future that Nepali technicians 'I am eager to hear what we have learned from this project' are still fresh in my mind.

Japan has been promoting cooperation in education, health, institutional structure building and good governance as well as in the infrastructure sector in Nepal through its implementing agency JICA. One of the strengths of Japan's financial aid is its various schemes, which can provide assistance not only between governments but also through various agencies and structures.

I signed 5 new projects under Japan's Community-Based Micro-Grant Program (GGP) in the past year. These projects provide direct assistance to rural communities. Also, 16 GGP project handover ceremonies were held by the Japanese Embassy, ​​which were postponed due to Covid. Japanese non-governmental organizations are also engaged in continuous cooperation activities in various fields and genres with the assistance of the embassy. Cooperation with international organizations has proven to be effective in this country, which has many challenges, especially in transportation and distribution. A notable example of this is the distribution of Japanese vaccines with the help of UNICEF in various areas of Nepal during the Covid epidemic. Similarly, in the earthquake that happened in Jajarkot last November, it was possible to provide emergency assistance in collaboration with UNDP.

We are confident that Japan's cooperation can be useful in the development of Nepal, so the cooperation is continuing. Both the mountainous countries and the complex natural geography since ancient times have been facing many common challenges including natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and climate change. Nepal can learn a lot from the experience of Japan's post-war reconstruction, development of democracy and disaster management. Now, the increasing presence of Nepalis in Japan has provided invaluable support to Japan's declining birth rate, aging economy and society. At the beginning of this year, Nepali people living in Japan helped during the earthquake in Japan's Noto Peninsula. It is actually a way of expressing gratitude for Japan's support to Nepal after the 2015 earthquake that centered on Gorkha in Nepal. In this way, we should be able to mutually benefit each other by supporting each other in bilateral relations.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Japan's entry into the Colombo Plan in 1954. From the same year, Japan entered the era of a country that had lost a war to a country that provided aid. The year 2026 will mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan. At this new height, my efforts will continue to promote people-to-people exchanges including development assistance for Nepal and visits of distinguished persons between the two countries.

As you may have noticed, the Japanese Development Assistance (ODA) logo says 'On behalf of the Japanese people', which I designed. This idea came to me when I was an administrative officer in the Economic Aid Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to highlight the fact that the goodwill of the Japanese people supports Japanese ODA.

It is hoped that the Nepali people will make good use of the Japanese assistance. I find that the Nepalese people have expressed their gratitude for Japan's selfless support to Nepal as a friend for a long time. I often tell them that Japan's interest is Nepal's peace, stability and development. I would say that this is not only the support and subsidy provided by the Japanese people's blood and sweat, but also an investment for the bright future of Nepal. In order to ensure that Japan's support for the welfare of Nepal is not wasted, the support of the federal, provincial and community governments of Nepal is necessary.

– Yutaka is the Japanese ambassador to Nepal.