Before we talk about Nepal-Finland relations, let us first know the secret of Finland having almost USD 50,000 as annual per capita income, and the stable republic democratic status in spite of coalition after every election in Finland. How could you maintain your political and economic stability after a long time?

We got the independence in 1917 and after that we have had the election in every four years for the parliament and the system is working very nicely. I think first of all we have good infrastructure, good governance system, democratic system so that the investors are interested in these kind of countries and that may be the key to success for our economy which is doing quite well. Of course we have difficulties at the moments like the other European countries but basically we are doing quite well. So I think the investors are interested in the countries which are stable and they know what is going to happen in the future. 

 

Finland is also called the land of the midnight sun. And also it has 180, 000 or more lakes and 179, 000 islands. So how do you manage to administer such a huge number of islands?

The islands first of all are the part of some municipality so the municipalities take care of the respective islands and the infrastructures or whatever is needed in the islands. We have a very strong local governance system which can manage these things very easily. 

 

Often several organizations connected with global business have found Finland to be very competitive country economically. It is also the land of some leading brands like Nokia. What is the secret behind the stable and competitive nature of economy and also the birth of good brands in Finland?

Well, it is little bit of mystery to me as well because our salary level is very high so we are not supposed to have a very competitive procession but how the companies take care of the economy and how they take care of their quality production may be the secret behind this success. 

 

You have worked in the Finnish Embassy earlier, and now back as a full-Fledged Ambassador. Please tell us what differences did you really find in Nepal’s economy, politics and society between your first and second term to Nepal?  

I arrived for the first time in 1st of August 2000 and then I left in the end of February 2004.  At that time situation in Nepal was totally different. Civil war was going on and it was escalating every time during my stay that time. When I came back during this term, political situation is still in the turmoil but at least there is no war so that the biggest change. 

 

“Nepali Population is not happy with their political parties and the people don’t have smiling faces”. You had once said it in 2012. What made you to draw this conclusion? Do you subscribe to this view one year later now?

Well, first of all if I said “not smiling face” that is not the truth because Nepali have always smiling faces. But during that time, the people were going through a really miserable condition. The people were not being able to work and earn for living. Rampant bandas was disturbing everybody in Nepal. I always speak against bandas as they are always disturbing to the people. Politicians are to take care of the issues of the people but it’s the habit of the political parties in Nepal and some other countries to depend upon banda for solving their problems. But that is not the case. It is just disturbing the economy and people are disappointed with such activities. 

 

How will the current election augur in the life of the Nepali population and what should be the priorities immediately after the elections? 

Election has come up with new possibilities and hopes for the common people. After the CA election now the local elections also should be held. This is very important for the people especially who are living in the poor areas. 

 

One of the biggest roles that you have been doing in this country is in the development sector. In fact, Nepal is one of your six top development partners, the other five being in Africa. So what is been the size and depth and areas of focus of the development aids in Nepal?

We started the cooperation in 1982 and after the establishment of embassy in 1992, the programme have been increasing in Nepal. Now a days we are talking about spending 22 million Euros (around NRs 2.6 billion) annually from Finland for the development of Nepal. 

 

We are now active in three sectors only according to the rule of European Union. Those three areas are education, sanitation and forestry.  

 

Which are the major INGOs with Finnish origin working on your behalf in Nepal and which are the geographical areas that you are active in?

We are financing 50 NGOs projects in Nepal directly from Finland and in addition to that the embassy is financing 10 projects which are implemented by Nepali NGOs. So it’s almost 60 NGO projects going on in Nepal at the moment. Those projects are scattered all over as we try to avoid the concept of being Kathmandu centered as people in need are living in rural areas. Once a year we discuss with Nepali government for the needy projects in Nepal and do according to the discussion. 

 

Finnish people have one of the highest per capita income of almost USD50, 000 per year in the world so there could be a big tourism market in Nepal for Finland. So what can be done and what is being done to promote tourism from Finland in Nepal?

There is definitely a lot of interest in visiting Kathmandu and Nepal to the people but on the other hand it is quite a lot of expensive visit to Nepal that limits the travelling to Nepal. So we need to increase the possibilities of visit to Nepal. I think the advertisement of Nepal in Finland should increase so that the people can get knowledge about what Nepal can offer. 

 

After the formation of constitution, what do you think would be the role of European Union for the development of economic situation in Nepal?

The role of EU will even increase to support the country financially. After the stable political condition in Nepal, other countries also would be interested in providing aid to Nepal.