Prospects of Peace in Nepal

13 Feb 03
South Asia Partnership Canada cordially invites you to a presentation on

Prospects of Peace in Nepal

By
His Excellency Jai Pratap Rana
Newly Appointed Nepal Ambassador to Canada

Day: Thursday, February 13, 2003
Time: 3.00 to 4.00 PM
Place: Room 202, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa

Issue: A surprise announcement last week brought hope to Nepal. The Maoist insurgents and the Government have agreed to a ceasefire. The Government accepted the initial demands from the Maoists. There is expectation that peace talks will begin in a few days.

In February 1996 he Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) began the so-called People�s War. This conflict has affected all 75 districts of this Himalayan kingdom. More than 7,000 Nepalese have died in seven years of civil war.

The Speaker: His Excellency Jai Pratap Rana joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal in 1961 and remained a career foreign service officer until his retirement as Additional Foreign Secretary in 1992.

From 1985 – 1991, Mr. Rana was Ambassador and Permanent Resident Representative of Nepal to the United Nations. During this period, he was also concurrently accredited as Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Peru and Venezuela.

Mr. Rana served as Nepal’s Chief Representative to the UN Security Council from January 1988 to December 1989. He held various other posts in the United Nations including the Vice President of the UN General Assembly in 1988 and Chairman of the Political Committee of UNGA on International Security and Disarmament in 1990.

In 1994 Mr. Rana was appointed as the Member Secretary (CEO) of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, a leading non-government organization active in the field of environmental protection and nature conservation in Nepal.

With a post-graduate degree in Political Science, Mr. Rana has also studied International Affairs at the University of London, U. K., and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States. He is the co-editor of book on Nepal and Non-alignment.

The Ambassador is in Canada to present his credentials to the Governor General. He is resident in Washington, D.C.

Please RSVP to: Faruq Faisel ffaisel@sapcanada.org
Phone: 613 241 1333, extension 226