JEDDAH, 16 January 2006 — Nepal, the world’s only Hindu kingdom, is a country with great potential wealth in two sectors — hydroelectric power and tourism. The Nepalese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abullaish Thakurai, told Arab News that his country was looking forward to increasing economic cooperation between the two countries in all economic sectors but with greatest emphasis on the sectors of hydropower and tourism.
“Nepal relies extensively on tourism; we want to increase the number of Saudi tourists and to establish scheduled flights between the two countries,” said the ambassador. The Nepalese government is earnestly attempting to attract foreign direct investment into this sector in order to take advantage of the country’s potential.“The Saudi private sector can utilize the potential of this sector and invest in it,” Thakurai said.
Nepal has a unique geography that makes it a tourist destination. It is a landlocked country, strategically located between China and India. It contains eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest — the world’s tallest. Its people are warm, affectionate and friendly. In addition, the Hindu kingdom is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the Katmandu Valley within a radius of 20 kilometers. At present, however, the country’s tourism industry has suffered due to internal troubles and political instability. “The hotels have very low occupancy and business is not what it used to be,” according to an article in the e-magazine, “Peace Journalism.” The writer argues that tourists’ personal security should be a major concern of the government but she believes that Nepal has a great potential in adventure and nature-based tourism.
The other sector with great potential is hydroelectricity. Currently, Nepal produces 373 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectricity which is only 0.4 percent of its potential, according to an article by United Nepal Organization, a private California-based research and development group focusing on Nepal’s economy. The country has the potential to produce 83,000 MW with 50 percent of that amount to be economically distributed, according to the organization. According to an article on Nepal’s economy in the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, the “swift rivers flowing south through the Himalayas have massive hydroelectric potential which could service domestic needs and the growing demand from India.”
The ambassador told Arab News,“Hydroelectricity is an area of strength for Nepal, and Nepal is the second largest country in the world in terms of hydroelectric potential; therefore we want to utilize this by attracting private investments into this sector.” He continued, “I invite the Saudi business community to come and invest in Nepal. I am present here to encourage business cooperation between the two kingdoms and I am trying to reach Saudi businessmen through the Saudi chambers of commerce and industry.” The ambassador pointed that there were other economic activities suitable for Saudi businessmen such as cement and plastic production. He also pointed that Nepal produces good quality hand-made carpets that are suitable for export to the Kingdom. He said that the present level of economic cooperation between the two countries was low and that most Saudi products entered Nepal indirectly via Singapore.
On a three-day visit to Nepal in December, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said that Nepal could become the richest country in the region because of its immense hydropower and tourism potential which remains unutilized.
