Jugal Bhurtel of the Non Resident Nepali International Coordination Committee (NRN-ICC) spoke to Nepali Times recently looking back at the achievements of overseas Nepalis in 2005.

How has 2005 been for the overseas Nepali community?
The most important achievement was the second conference that was held in Kathmandu in October. The amount of work that went into the conference shows how seriously overseas Nepalis take the development of their homeland. The conference went much better than expected.

Concrete accomplishments?
First, as I said, it showed that overseas Nepalis are concerned about the country and are willing to help. It proved that the first conference wasn't just a whim or homesickness, it showed a commitment to start a process of interaction with the government to try to find out where we can fit in the development of our homeland. The second conference gave the non-resident Nepali movement a permanent place in Nepali society.

How do you gauge the government's response?
There was support from the government, political parties and all sides. We met the leaders of all the big parties. There was no pressure to toe any line.

I think this was because everyone regarded the NRN issue as one of national importance that had to be kept out of the political arena.

How is the networking among overseas Nepalis progressing?
Since the second conference there is expected to be a big leap forward in participation of overseas Nepalis in nation-building, not just paying lip service to helping Nepal. Also, from this time there is more participation of women and we hope to reach the communities and groups of NRNs we haven't reached yet. This year's conference helped increase our self-confidence.

So what next?
Our organisational structure is more or less strong. Although it still has limitations, the NRN Act has come into being which gives us a legal basis for investment. We hope there will be reforms in the law through ordinance. The other big achievement this year was the commitment to help in a future peace process in the country and a committee is being set up to deal with it. The concept of a $100 million Nepal Investment Fund has been floated which can take the NRN movement into a new phase. There is also a proposal to start a Skills Training Centre for Nepalis working overseas for which there is another $10 million fund proposed. We also want to work with local bodies in the districts with a project in each area of education and health. So, this year we pledged to carry out some effective interventions.

Exactly how do you propose to spend the funds?
There will obviously be some difficulties with the implementation of the $100 million fund. Firstly, NRN Association can't even be registered according to prevalent laws of the land. There will be further complications because of post-9/11 restrictions on registering international funds in conflict zones. Still, our international consultant is working on this and many of our friends have already pledged money to the fund.

We feel the biggest challenge is to restore peace. We can show all the commitment we want but if the country remains at war our commitments for investment won't mean much. The government must also amend the NRN ordinance so as to include a big group that is now kept out.

So what are you doing till the next conference?
We must establish offices in all countries where Nepalis reside. It is huge task. And while seeking a more pro-active role in the socio-economic transformation of Nepal we have also accepted a lot of responsibilities towards our ever-suffering motherland. The third conference will evaluate what we have done so far but I am confident we will see results.