Minister Dr Rana returns home after participation in Eighth Indian Ocean Conference

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Feb 20: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Arzu Rana Deuba has returned home today after participating in the Eighth Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat, Oman. She had left for Oman on February 14 at the joint invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi. 

Talking to media persons at Tribhuvan International Airport after returning home, Dr Rana said that she represented Nepal in the conference, which was attended by foreign ministers from 40 countries in the Indian Ocean region. The theme of the conference was 'Voyage to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership'. 

She addressed a session entitled ‘Amplifying the Voice of the Global South’, calling for support to ensure the region's progress, reasoning that the Global South play an important role in building a more just, fair and inclusive world, and without its development, the achievements made by the developed world could be at risk.

On the sidelines of the conference, she held bilateral meetings with ministers from participating India, Oman, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, focusing on various issues, including bilateral interest and mutual benefits between Nepal and these countries.  

She had bilateral meetings with Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Oman, the Minister of Energy and Minerals, the Minister of Heritage and Tourism, and the Foreign Ministers of Iran, the UAE and Sri Lanka, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Japan. 

During the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr Rana urged his initiatives for the safe release of a Nepalese citizen, Bipin Joshi, believed to have been taken captive by Hamas. 

Similarly, she requested Japanese assistance for the reconstruction of the BP Highway, which was damaged due to the floods in Nepal last October. Furthermore, she urged the Foreign Ministers of the UAE, Sri Lanka and Oman to launch direct flights between these countries and the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Nepal to enhance connectivity. 

During the visit, two Memorandums of Understanding were also signed between Nepal and Oman in the diplomatic and tourism sectors.

Odisha incident resolved through diplomatic means’

Meanwhile, Dr Rana informed that the Government of Nepal has taken the death of Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha seriously and the subsequent developments were resolved through diplomatic means.

She informed that she had talked with Odisha’s Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj over the phone, urging a fair investigation into Lamsal's death and legal action against the culprits. She also requested a guarantee of safety for Nepali students at the university. 

In response, she said Indian Minister Suraj informed that the state of Odisha has taken the incident seriously and a high-level investigation committee has been formed to ensure justice for the deceased and action against the culprits. 

 “We immediately started diplomatic initiatives after the incident, demanding justice for the deceased and action against the culprits, and we coordinated with the concerned authorities, concerning the safety of Nepali students at the university. Following the diplomatic intervention, the university apologised and reinstated Nepali students in hostels, and took action against the misbehaving college staff.”

She also informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi were coordinating with the Odisha government and the university administration regarding the issue. 

For making rescue efforts easier, Dr Rana underscored the need for Nepal to maintain da atabase of Nepali students and workers in foreign countries. 

"The foreign ministry does not have a record of Nepali people abroad. We only become aware when they are in trouble. A proper database and enough workforce at the ministry will make rescue efforts easier."