President Poudel inaugurated NRNA General Assembly, 4 contestants for chairmanship

KATHMANDU: The 11th General Conference of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has begun in Kathmandu.

On Tuesday, President Ram Chandra Poudel opened the four-day session. He inaugurated the conference with Swasti Vachan.

Addressing the program, Foreign Minister NP Saud said that the knowledge, skills and investment gained abroad will be important in the development of Nepal.

He stated that NRNAs can work with foreign missions to attract investment, tourists, export Nepali goods abroad, and spread Nepal’s glory around the world.

The General Assembly will conclude on Kartik 3 (Oct 21) with the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. NRNA is also celebrating the 11th convention as a 20th anniversary occasion. Under the joint project of the government, private sector and NRNA, the main slogan of ‘Nepali for Nepali’ and ‘Knowledge and Transformation as the Basis of Prosperity’ is going to be organized as the Non-Resident Eleventh International Convention and the Third World Knowledge Conference.

During the conference, a special session will be organized on Asshoj 30 (Oct 17) and Kartik 1 (Oct 18) on World Knowledge Conference, Youth Conference and Women’s Conference, Foreign Employment and Social Security Fund and Citizenship Act and Voting Rights.

Likewise, on Kartik 2 (Oct 19), the election will be held to select the new leadership of NRNA, said Som Sapkota, spokesperson of NRNA. According to him, 4,227 convention delegates from 59 countries will participate in the election, which is going to be conducted online voting through ‘facial verification’ for the first time.

Spokesman Sapkota informed that arrangements have been made to easily participate in voting from anywhere in the world and online voting has been arranged at the conference venue for voters who have come to Nepal.

Four contestants for the chairmanship

Four candidates are vying for the position of NRNA president. The Chairs Badri KC and Rabina Thapa, as well as vice presidents Mahesh Shrestha and RK Sharma, have submitted their candidates for the presidency, according to the NRNA secretariat.

The committee has proposed 18 candidates for the position of vice-chair. Six persons will be elected from this group. The convention will include elections for 74 International Coordinating Council executives. A gathering of non-resident Nepalis was organized in London in August 2003, and after significant deliberations, the first international conference was conducted in Kathmandu on October 11, 2003, and the NRNA was created.

The organization has organized around one lakh Nepalis from all over the world and has expanded its network to 86 countries.

During the last two decades, the association estimates that around one billion investments have entered Nepal through Nepalis living abroad.

The organization has mentioned that the institutional effort is continuing to bring in intellectual investment along with financial investment.