Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon was in Nepal this past week on a four-day visit as UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. With a degree in development studies, the heir to Norwegian throne is actively involved in promoting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). During his stay in Nepal, he interacted with sexual minorities, addressed the Indigenous People’s Caucus, visited a maternity clinic in Kamdhi, Banke, and met former Maoist combatants, besides holding discussions with the President. He says that he finds “face-to-face meeting rewarding,” in his own words, they challenge one’s morals and help shape ethics. Those who met him said they were pleasantly surprised by his demeanour and his thorough understanding of development issues. He praised Nepal for making remarkable progress in MDGs and singled out female health volunteers repeatedly for their contribution.
He said that getting the ground work right is vital for development and that Nepal was currently in the middle of that process. “Once you get that going, that’s when all the opportunity opens up and you can speed up. The process works also on economic growth because Nepal, after all, is situated between two big markets: China and India.”
In an interview with The Kathmandu Post Crown Prince Haakon told John Narayan Parajuli on Thursday afternoon at the conclusion of his visit that an inclusive growth was very important and that addressing inequalities was crucial to creating stability. He said that what he saw in Nepal made him very optimistic about Nepal’s future.
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