Energy crisis: Nepalese prime minister in Norway and Finland to seek investment
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - The prime minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (in the photo), is on an official visit to Norway and Finland. Together with a delegation of businessmen and government representatives, he will be in the northern European countries until April 4 in an attempt to sign agreements in the hydroelectric energy sector, and obtain help for the country, which two months ago declared a "national energy crisis."
The use of its energy resources has become a chronic problem for Nepal. It is calculated that the country has unused resources equivalent to 83,000 megawatts. This wealth could contribute to the development of industry, which is forced to rely on the importing of energy from neighboring India, and to the expansion of electricity distribution for private use, since more than 80% of the population still depends on wood and other natural fuels.
The ten years of civil war that characterized the life of Nepal from 1996-2006 led to a paralysis of infrastructure development, which the country is no longer able to resolve on its own.
The visit of the Maoist leader comes on the eve of the beginning of the winter session of parliament, known also as the "session of the amendments," in which the government will discuss three delicate topics: which public service sectors should be maintained, the institution of a commission to investigate the hundreds of cases of disappearance and kidnapping; and the modification of the electoral rolls.
The coinciding of the prime minister's trip with the beginning of the winter session of parliament has created perplexity among political forces. Nonetheless, Dahal says he received the opposition's support for the trip, which had been postponed in January for reasons of domestic politics, in order to avoid harming Nepal's image.
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