Kathmandu, October 14
Manchala Kumari Jha, the proposed Nepali ambassador to Sri Lanka, has put forward four plans, including one to turn the historical, religious and cultural ties between Nepal and Sri Lanka into an economic partnership.
Jha presented the plans at Wednesday’s meeting of the parliamentary hearing committee, under four main priorities: expanding tourism and air connectivity, a Ramayana circuit, promoting Buddhist heritage, and trade and investment.
She spoke in particular of plans to attract Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims to Lumbini and Kapilvastu, and to promote religious tourism by linking Janakpur with Ramayana-related sites in Sri Lanka.
Presenting her four-year action plan, Jha stressed that the relationship between the two countries should be strengthened further based on the Panchsheel principles and shared cultural heritage. She said her priority would be to extend the historical ties to the people-to-people level and deliver concrete results in tourism, trade and investment.
Plan to bring pilgrims from Sri Lanka to Lumbini
Jha has placed tourism and air connectivity as the first pillar of her action plan. Under it, she plans to study the feasibility of operating direct or charter flights to bring pilgrims from Sri Lanka to Lumbini. Noting that limited air connectivity between the two countries and high airfares are challenges for promoting tourism, she said she would coordinate with the government and the private sector to address them.
The second strategic pillar is the Ramayana circuit and cultural diplomacy. She plans to promote Janakpur’s Ramayana tradition and the Ramayana-related sites in Sri Lanka as a shared religious tourism destination. She said joint tourism packages and cultural exchange between the two countries would be prioritised for this purpose.
The third pillar covers the development of Buddhist heritage and religious tourism. She plans to make Nepal, which is associated with Buddhist philosophy and culture, an attractive destination for Sri Lankan tourists, and to step up promotion of Lumbini and Kapilvastu.
The fourth pillar covers promotion of trade and investment, cooperation between the private sectors, and protection of the interests of Nepali citizens in Sri Lanka. She said bilateral relations would be made more results-oriented through trade forums, investment promotion, and educational and cultural exchange.
At the committee meeting, Jha noted that the two countries have maintained friendly ties that have grown stronger since diplomatic relations were established on April 1, 1957. She said relations based on Buddhist philosophy, religion, culture and shared civilisation should be extended into economic and institutional cooperation.
She also expressed her commitment to work in line with the Nepal government’s policies and programmes and the national interest, and with Nepal’s foreign policy of “friendship with all, enmity with none”.
In her interaction with committee members, Jha said the action plan she presented was only a preliminary framework. She clarified that she would refine it further, based on the lawmakers’ suggestions, to make it implementable.
