Basnyat with Nepal’s honorary consul general in the Philippines, Dr. Jose Paulo Campos who has been very instrumental in promoting Nepal-Philippines relationshipPresent tiesHaving formed such high regard for the Filipinas he had met, Basnyat was more than happy to be appointed ambassador to the Philippines.“We especially like the Philippines because people here are very nice. I think it has to do with the language, we both speak English, so it is easy to communicate,” he further related.With his hands full overseeing two other Asian countries, which employ a large number of Nepalese, the ambassador explained that they appointed an honorary consul general in the Philippines through Dr. Jose Paulo Campos.“He is working in that capacity and has been very active. For one, he has been supporting the Nepalese especially in many cases of immigration. Dr. Campos is also very much instrumental in promoting Nepal-Philippines relationship like promoting bi-lateral economic promotions, economic diplomacy, on top of others.”Campos, who later joined Basyat’s interview with The Manila Times, also pointed to the presence of many Nepalese students in the Philippines. “We have quite a lot of them enrolled in in medicine and aviation. There are almost 1,000 Nepali students studying here right now.”Basnyat responded with gratitude especially since the Philippine government has provided educational grants for deserving Nepali students.“If given the chance [to talk to officials], I will ask only two points from the Philippine government. One, please provide more scholarships to our students in the Philippines, if possible, especially to those affected by the [2015] earthquake. We have heard that the educational system in the Philippines is as good as in the US where the entire curriculum is based,” he enthused.“The other thing I’d ask is for help in the administrative management system—how you are managing your people outside the Philippines for employment,” Basnyat added.Just like the Philippines, a huge number from Nepal’s 27 million-population works overseas.“To be exact, we have 4 million workers in other countries, with the largest population (900,000 strong) working in Malaysia. The sector produces $1.5 billion in remittances, a smaller figure compared to Philippines’ $30 billion from OFWs. We believe that the Philippines has a good administrative system regarding sending their citizens for foreign employment.”Next destinationLooking forward to stronger ties between the two countries, Basnyat believes that they might just be able to convince Filipinos to choose Nepal as their next must-visit destination. He proudly related that London-based travel guidebook Rough Guides included Nepal in its 10 must-see countries for 2016.Meanwhile, Campos, who has visited Nepal four times already, said he can attest to Rough Guides’ choice. “There are many nice places in Nepal like Pokhara Valley and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. Getting to Nepal is like getting away from modernity.”The natural wonders that only nature can perfect, sites that took 6,000 years to be made both spiritually and historically, and food options that combine influences from different countries, are just some of the many reason why a ten-hour travel to Nepal (including one stopover) is worth it, according to the country’s main men in the Philippines.“Young people who are interested to go to Nepal for trekking must visit the bottom of the Himalayan Mountains. If you go in the morning, you see a clearly white mountain. But during sunset, it is like volcano, it’s golden. In the evening, you’ll see it blue because of the shadow. The mountain changes colors according to the light of the sun. It’s beautiful!” Basnyat proudly said.He further noted a wildlife preserve called Chitwan where the one-horn rhinoceros can be found, as well as a high-end Ayurveda Center for those who prefer R&R close to nature, and the Phewa Lake in Pokhara, which gives the valley breathtaking reflections.For those interested to experience Nepal, the diplomat happily told The Manila Times that their consular office can release 15 and 30-day visit visas, while and a good number of commercial flights now travel to his country daily.With high hopes that there will be more Filipino tourists going to Nepal, Basnyat promised that he will also promote the Philippines to his countrymen as he continues to look forward traveling here regularly.
