 Good afternoon. Welcome everybody. My name is Nancy Lindbergh. I'm the President of the United States Institute of Peace and I'm delighted to welcome everybody here. For those of you who are here for the first time, U.S. Institute of Peace was founded by Congress in 1984 dedicated to the proposition that peace is possible, that peace is practical and that it is essential for national and international security. And we work across the federal government and with a diverse array of partners around the world with individuals, with organizations, and with governments to equip them with the tools, the information, and the learning, the joint learning on how to make peace possible. U.S. IP worked in Nepal for several years starting in 2006. And I personally lived in Nepal in the early 1980s. And I think like many people probably in this room and certainly across the country, Nepal holds a very special place in many of our hearts. And everybody is keen to see Nepal succeed because of the love that we have for the people in the country. I want to just note, as many of you are probably keenly aware of, today is the one-year anniversary of a very devastating earthquake that struck Nepal. It ended up with over 8,000 people dead, 3.5 million people without homes. This was the earthquake that many people had been preparing for for a very long time, knowing what a seismically difficult zone earthquake is situated in. And I want to give a shout out, I don't know if they're here yet, to my former USAID colleagues, including Bill Berger, who ran the Disaster Assistance Response Team, and Ward Miller, if he's here. There you are, there you are. Yeah, so I don't know if Beth is with you. But, you know, the world really mobilized. And the Nepali government, the people, its people, the international community put a tremendous amount of effort into trying to do immediate rescue and rebuilding the country in the intervening year. And this today is, in part, a time to reflect on the progress that's been made and the challenges that remain and the lessons that we've learned. As fragile as Nepal's political consensus was prior to the earthquake and as significant as the damage of the earthquake, this rebuilding effort has the real potential to reshape the country's political future for decades to come. And it's more important than ever for Nepal and its many, many supporters that the process be carried out in a manner that really bridges and unites Nepal's divides. And I know that the government shares this goal. USIP's experience in Nepal and really across the world suggests that it's only through building these social, political, as well as physical foundations that Nepal can really successfully revive its economic opportunities for its people and reshape the country and remain resilient in the face of what we know are many physical challenges. So we're honored to host today his Excellency Kamal Tapa, the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Foreign Minister of Nepal. He's in a critical position to lead on many of these issues. And I look forward to hearing his thoughts on how the efforts have been thus far, as well as the many other processes underway in Nepal. And here to introduce him is Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal. Assistant Secretary Biswal has served in her current role since October 2013 with a portfolio that includes Nepal as well as its regional neighbors. Previous to that, Nisha was the Assistant Administrator for Asia at USAID. Before that, she held several leadership positions on the hill. She's a good friend to the region, a great friend to the institute, and someone I count as a very dear friend. We're delighted to have her here. After Deputy Prime Minister Tapa's remarks, we'll continue the conversation and take your questions. We look forward to that. And now please join me in welcoming Assistant Secretary Biswal. Well, thank you, Nancy, for hosting us today for your longstanding friendship with the people of Nepal, and also for your commitment and your leadership on humanitarian assistance and human security. Nancy, your voice has been a really important voice, whether you were in government, whether you were outside of government, it has been a guidepost for so many of us on trying to find our own moral compass and policy focus. So thank you, Nancy. I can't think of a better place for you to be than USIP. And I can't think of a better place to hold this event than at an institution that has really been focused on peace building, on reconciliation, and on moving us closer towards a world without conflict. It is my great pleasure today to be able to introduce the Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, who is a accomplished politician, a respected diplomat who has held many, many portfolios throughout his career. But also, I must say, quite an athlete. He is not only a skilled tennis player, but also was on the national soccer team of Nepal. And I know continues to be very active today. And to underscore that we in the US government know talent when we see it, I take pride in saying that the Deputy Prime Minister is also an alumnus of our IVLP exchange program. The Deputy Prime Minister has come a very long way to be with us today on the one year anniversary of the terrible earthquake that struck Nepal. A tragedy of immense scale, but one which the people of his nation bore with tremendous bravery, courage, and care for their fellow countrymen. I was in Nepal shortly after the earthquake and saw the devastation, the pain, and the suffering of its people. But I also witnessed their resilience and their strong spirit. And I saw that even though many had lost homes, friends, and family, they had not lost hope. I was heartened by the efforts from nations all around the world, the near neighbors, as well as the far friends, to sustain that hope. Military officers, diplomats, rescue workers, and good people from every walk of life joined hands to help Nepalese. In fact, my flight that came from Istanbul to Kathmandu was filled with relief workers every seat. And they were already in their gear, ready to get off the plane and go to work. It was a very moving sight to be on that airplane. The earthquake struck Nepal as it was transitioning from a decade-long insurgency that had, for many parts of the country's diverse population, crystallized feelings of deep-seated grievance and mistrust. The new constitution, promulgated last fall, marked an important milestone along the journey to inclusive democracy. The task now is to ensure that that constitution, as well as any implementing law, has the broadest possible support in every part of the country, and enshrines and protects human rights and fundamental freedoms, along with gender equality, inclusivity, and equal rights to citizenship. It will require a lot of work and constant vigilance by Nepal's government, by a free press, and by independent human rights organizations, as well as all citizens, to avoid the dangers of new conflicts and the pitfalls of gender discrimination, religious intolerance, or marginalization. We've already seen how unaddressed grievances, like those held by the people of the Turai, on issues like demarcation or the parameters for citizenship, can result in negative consequences for Nepal's economy and society. But I know that the deputy prime minister and the people of Nepal still believe in that vision of inclusion, and that the destination may yet be a way off, but it is one that I firmly believe they can achieve. And so I know that, as the people of Nepal have come out of the earthquake and they have come out of the political crisis, that Nepal can and will build back stronger. That is our firm hope, and we will partner with the government of Nepal to ensure and enable that vision. The road is long and sometimes time is of the essence, but we are committed to helping Nepal achieve its full potential for the benefits of all Nepalese. And today we have the honor of hearing directly from one of Nepal's highest ranking officials on how his government plans to move the nation forward and seize the opportunity. It is therefore my great honor to introduce to you his Excellency Gamal Thapa, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Nepal, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister. Thank you, Nancy. Thank you, Nisa, for inviting me. To this very important meeting today, before going on to my written text, I would like to say few words about the tragedy that Nepal had to face exactly one year ago. Last year, on the 25th of April, Nepal was struck by a massive earthquake that caused almost 9,000 lives. It destroyed almost 600,000 houses, private houses. More than 7,000 East School buildings were collapsed. More than 3.5 million Nepalese people have become homeless, suddenly. And on economic terms, it is estimated that almost $7 billion US dollar loss has been incurred in terms of economy. That was a severe blow for a country like Nepal, which had suffered from 10 years of insurgency. The Maoist insurgency took lives of nearly 17,000 people. And beside that, it also had a tremendous impact on our socio-economic and political life. When we are slowly emerging out of that crisis, the sudden hit by the earthquake has really devastated us. But as Assistant Secretary of State has rightly said, that Nepalese people have a tremendous level of resilience. We lost many lives. We lost many things. But you are right that we didn't lose hope. As a matter of fact, the earthquake created an environment, political environment where all the political parties who were fighting each other for eight years on different issues, they came together. They stood together and agreed to bring out the new constitution of the country. So today, I also would like to thank the international community, our immediate neighbors who came to rescue, who came to provide relief materials within hours, and also the international community, the United States, and other many countries who came with a very warm heart and helping hands that really helped us. And we believe that we will be able to overcome this tragedy and will build back better, not only reconstruct, but we will take it as an opportunity to make a stronger, prosperous new Nepal. This is the commitment of the government, commitment of the political parties, regardless of faith and ideology. We are all together in addressing the issues of reconstruction. Couple of months back, the parliament passed a reconstruction bill. Now we have a high-powered national reconstruction authority headed by the Prime Minister himself and a powerful chief executive officer. We have already started the reconstruction process. It took some time. We accept that there has been some laggings. There are many regions. I don't want to go into the details. But last week, out of 600 houses destroyed, we have been able to identify 300,000 houses that need to be immediately provided with government support for the reconstruction. And reconstruction, in fact, has already started. And we look forward for the continued support from the international community and especially we value very highly the support of the U.S. government and the U.S. people. I'm very happy to be among this August gathering this afternoon. I thank the organizers for giving me this opportunity. Today, I wish to share some of my thoughts and experiences on recent developments in Nepal. I will focus on our efforts to promote peace and democracy in our country. We are passing through the most difficult time in our contemporary history. Modern Nepal was founded by great king Pirtibinaran Sa in the middle of the 18th century. Since then, Nepal has gone through several ups and downs. And while there have been several changes in the political systems and regimes, it has never experienced the crisis of this magnitude and character. Sadly, at present, we have fallen in the vicious circle of anarchy and instability. We went through more than a decade-long painful Maoist insurgency. It not only took 17,000 lives, moreover, it shook the very foundation of Nepal's existence. To bring the Maoist in the main stream, we compromised many things. One of the compromises was to use the mechanism of the Constituent Assembly to draft the constitution of the country. Thus, we entered into a phase of a decade-long transition. Exactly one year ago, on 25th April last year, Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake. It killed 9,000 people, destroyed 600,000 private houses, and made 3 million people homeless. It is believed that the losses from the damages incurred in the earthquake has reached 7 billion US dollars. Realizing the urgency of the hour, keeping aside serious ideological differences, Nepal's political parties came out with a new constitution. But, again, sadly, four days after the promulgation of the new constitution, Nepal had to face an unexpected disruption of the transit and supply system on our southern border. The damage caused by this unofficial blockade in our socio-economic and political sector cannot be measured in terms of values. All these events caused unprecedented damage to our country. However, having said that, I am quite optimistic about Nepal's future. Nepalese are known to be resilient people. And while we face several challenges in re-establishing normality, we also see opportunities. The present moment is a mix of opportunities as well as challenges. The opportunities are present because the insurgency followed by a peace process has come to an end. We have a new constitution that offers us a chance to start a phrase. The constitution provides the platform for political stability and democratic environment that is essential for peace and prosperity. We also have the opportunity to last on the explosive growth of our neighbors. We have to make the most of these opportunities to achieve peace and stability along with economic development. However, these opportunities are not without challenges. The situation in Nepal is still fluid and fragile, necessitating a sensitive approach. We have a heavily politicized society that has the potential to further divide us. Our governance structure and institutional support base are weak. And while the expectations from the government are very high, we are low on resources to meet our potential. Having said that, whatever the challenges may be, Nepal cannot afford to miss the opportunity to build towards political stability and peace. Failure to capitalize on the opportunity now could lead to a serious threat to national survival. There would be real risk posed in being a weak, poor and fragile nation between two prosperous giant countries. Experiences shows that political change without economic development is futile. In order to sustain democracy and bring about stability, economic development is a must. The prosperity of people brought about by economic development has to be our strategy to survive. We believe the platform for us to take off into a new era of prosperity and stability already exists now. We have a new constitution and renewed commitment to take Nepal forward. And we cannot miss this opportunity. Hence, we need and actively seek the support and encouragement of international community to achieve economic developments and stability. Drafting the constitution through Constituent Assembly was a top task in Nepal's political, ideological and socio-cultural diversity. It was even a tougher task. Well, there are some forces that are unhappy with the constitution. I don't consider it unnatural since the new constitution is a document of compromise. It cannot make everyone happy. Even I am not happy because, to tell you the truth, my party voted against the constitution because some of our fundamental principles were not incorporated in the constitution. But we supported the constitution with some reservation because it was approved by not only two-third majority, but the overwhelming majority of 82 percent. And more than 90 percent of the elected representatives have signed the new constitution. This in itself is a big achievement. I don't want to name any country, but those countries who have drafted their constitution through Constituent Assembly can hardly match Nepal's support rate so far. The Constituent Assembly is concerned. I don't think there are many countries which can claim that they have the support of 90 percent elected representatives. Yes, there are shortcomings. No constitution in the world can claim that it is 100 percent perfect. And especially in countries like Nepal, let me share with you there were 31 political parties in the Constituent Assembly of different political states and ideological backgrounds. Out of 601 members of the Constituent Assembly, there were the representatives of Nepal's diverse socio-cultural background. So from such a diverse elected representative to come out with a constitution in itself was a, I don't say it's impossible, but was a very, very difficult task. But Nepal succeeded after a long, long, very chaotic process. There are shortcomings, but this constitution is a living document, a dynamic document, an amendable document. Let me tell you again, within three months to address some of the grievances of the hesitating political parties, we have already done the first amendment. And even now, yes, there are some grievances, especially andi, Tharai area, adjoining Indian Board. I'm sure that it would not be taken otherwise. But the issues that has been raised by some hesitating political parties doesn't hold enough support base. But we don't simply ignore because they don't have a political support or this popular support. The government, not only the government, even the main opposition political party, the largest political party, we are all together, we are committed that we will address all the genuine issues of the hesitating political parties. We know that until and unless we will, until and unless we create an environment where every section of the Nepalese society can claim that this is my constitution and it would be in my interest to preserve it, there is always a possibility or the threat of destabilization. Nepal has gone through a very serious insurgency problem. We don't want to repeat that. Nepalese people simply cannot afford that. It is bigger of that reason. The government and the political parties have gone extra mile to show the flexibility and to bring in all the political parties on board. The government has formed a negotiation team to sit in with the hesitating political parties and very happy to tell you that I have been entrusted to lead the negotiation team. We have gone through several rounds of negotiation with the hesitating political parties and major issues have been already addressed. There are a couple of issues. We think we will be able to resolve that peacefully through negotiation and within the framework of the constitution. On this note, we look forward and request the international community to understand the political dynamics of Nepal and support not only the peace process, not only the constitution making but also the efforts that the government and the main political parties are doing their label based in addressing the grievances of hesitating political parties. Having said this about how we drafted the constitution, I said before also that my party voted against the constitution. But despite that, I can safely and proudly claim that there are many positives to the constitution. It is democratic document and incorporates universal values and norms of democracy and freedom. It is a living dynamic and amendable document. It has the capacity and provisions to resolve conflicts and crises while staying within its framework. It is inclusive with reservation for marginalized communities and interestingly, one-third of the seats guaranteed to women in the federal and provincial parliaments. At the local government level, 40 percent of women participation is mandatory. Significantly, either the president or the vice president of the country has to be woman. It's the same with the speaker or the deputy speaker. Thanks to the new constitution, I am proud to say that out of the four top positions at present, three are held by women. We have a female president, chief justice, and the speaker of the house. The constitution also ensures that there is no discrimination at all on the basis of gender. Ethnicity and religion. We are the second country after India in South Asia to draft constitution through Constituent Assembly, a representative body elected by the people. The new constitution aims to provide a platform for peace, political stability, and inclusive and effective democracy. We believe that economic development and democracy are twin features that fuel each other. We are also well aware that peace, inclusive democracy, and market economy are ideas that conquer the world. And we intend to safeguard these ideals through the new constitution. World history and our own experience of six decades have shown that political change of whatever color cannot be sustained without economic development and prosperity of the people. It is therefore necessary now to focus on economic transformation in order to sustain the democratic system and the momentum of change that has already taken place. Nepal is a country with tremendous potential. The government has identified tourism, hydropower, and agriculture as our main priorities. However, to achieve our goals in these and other sectors, we have to address the problem of infrastructure deficit with utmost priority. We have more than 42,000 megawatt of feasible hydropower potential, but we go through 12 to 15 hours of load setting every winter. While we discuss our potential, almost 1,500 of our youth are forced out of the country each day to work in the dire conditions. Currently, there are almost 4 million Nepalese working mainly in the Gulf countries and Malaysia. We have to map out a clear strategy planned to ensure that we achieve economic development so that our youths do not have to leave the country for employment. The government's focus on economic development coupled with political will and stability will assist our drive for economic development. Towards this objective, our government has been working to encourage foreign direct investment in Nepal and plans to come up with investor friendly policies. It is therefore at this crucial juncture, we will obviously look to the support and encouragement of the international community in our endeavor to achieve economic development. Meanwhile, our foreign policy focus is also geared towards strengthening partnership with all our international partners. We have maintained excellent relationship with both our neighbours. We are fortunate to have very good relations with all the major donor countries. We want to ensure the resurgence of Nepalese prestige with the international community. We also value our relations with US very much. The US is the vanguard of liberal human values, freedom and democracy. The US is also a major development partner in Nepal through several programs including USAID and recently the Millenium Challenge Corporation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the US government and its people for its generous support towards economic and democratic transformation of Nepal. I look forward to similar support in the future and request the US government and its people for even more support at this crucial juncture. Thank you once again. Thank you Deputy Minister Topha. Appreciate those very thorough candid comments. And I want to just note that before we start our Q&A, you'll see that our ushers have note cards. And so if you have a question, please ask for a note card. Please write legibly and they'll bring the questions on up for us. And you spoke about the fact that there was some difficulties in the initial post earthquake response. And I want to start a question out since this is the one year anniversary. And we understand that in some areas assistance is only now starting to flow out of all the assistance that was raised internationally as well as within Nepal. What lessons do you think we've learned collectively out of that process? And looking forward during this really important reconstruction period, do you feel confident that you've got the mechanisms in place for the kind of inclusive transparent assistance to make this a critically important and successful phase? Well, thank you very much. In fact, I agree that we are behind time, especially at a time when people were suffering. We could not give them enough support because of so many factors. There are political factors also, and also some factors which would be on our control. It took some time, but I can definitely and very authoritatively say that now the process is very much on the track. There is a law. There is an institutional mechanism. We have international support. We have human resources, and the work has already been started. Let's see, because Nepal alone is not in position to address the reconstruction problems. We need international support, financial support. But when we talk about international support, that comes with certain provisions, and that is quite understandable also because the international community, when they are funding projects, they want to see to it that it reaches to the target community. So there are some provisions in which it took some time for us to make environment that these provisions are implementable. But now I can tell you that the framework is there. The institution is there. Commitment is there, and it has already started. The only worry that we have is the mansion is very near. Just about a couple of months time. So governments now priority is on one hand to support the victims on the reconstruction of their houses, but at the same time provide some relief during the months and also. So we are working on that. Any key lessons that you would pull out of that for either the future or maybe for your neighbors out of the difficulties that you had in the early days? Yeah. The main difficulties that we faced after the earthquake, so far the political factor is concerned that it's already overcome. We had some problems with the drafting of the constitution and the political parties were fighting each other and the environment was not conducive for us to launch a program. So first we agreed that at this situation considering the urgency of the hour, we agreed on major issues and the constitution is there. So the political relation that we have learned is that especially in crisis like this we should stand together. And this has now almost, I think we have almost agreed on this. Second on the disruption of transit and the supply system and the southern border is concerned. There were misunderstandings with India. So through diplomatic efforts we have been able to clear the misunderstanding. I visited twice within two months time and later on two months back Prime Minister K.P. Woolley visited India. Now I can tell you that with India our relation is excellent. It's back to normal. Life has come to normal and no disruptions at all. So that is also clear. Institutional mechanism is also there. So far the funding is concerned. Still we lack enough resources. It is estimated that almost 700 billion US dollar loss. But the places that we have got so far is around 4 billion US dollar. So there is a deficit of almost 3 billion. So we are working on that and we are approaching the international community for their generous support. And I want to go, you spoke quite a bit about the Constitution. And you also noted which I think many of us have experienced after a big natural disaster such as the earthquake there is often this outpouring of unity. And I think we saw that in Nepal where people in the mountains and the middle of the country, the Tarai all came together in this moment of unity and commitment and pledges to rebuild the country. But after the Constitution was promulgated in September there seemed to be a reemergence of some of the divisions along geography, religion, caste. Are you seeing that you are past that? Are there ways that you're still seeking to ensure that there is a unity? I mean thank you for the comments that you've already made about the difficulties of the Constitution. What's the road look like now? Well, so far the grievances of some sections of Nepalese society are concerned. I think many of those issues have already been addressed by the Constitution. But having said this, I'm not trying to minimize the dissatisfaction. There are dissatisfactions, yes. But it is not that big as seen from outside. Life in Nepal is very much normal except few districts which were destroyed. These days those areas also are also normal. No problem at all but some political parties have again they have said that they will go in for agitation. Let me tell you very frankly, let me see, I am the convener of the negotiation team. When we sit with the agitating political parties and ask them what is your real problem, it's very difficult for them to come to define specifics. So they keep on saying we are talking about the rights of the Madesis. So when we ask them what is the right, what right you want for the Madesis? What right is not there in the Constitution that guarantees the upliftment of the Madesis people? They say that we want to preserve the identity of the Madesis people. So why, what are the issues? There is no specific such except when we kept on asking them, they raised four issues. One, delineation of the electoral constituency on the basis of population. In fact it was already there but to satisfy them we reorganized, we agreed to reorganize and reformulate the wardings of the Constitution and amended the Constitution. It was already there but to satisfy them we agreed to reformulate the wardings. Second, inclusive and proportional representation at all state organs. It was already there in the directive principle. They wanted some changes, we agreed on that also. Third, they say that there is a discrimination on the citizenship issue but when we keep on probing them what differences are there? Is there any discrimination between the hill people and the Madesis on citizenship issue? No. There is no discrimination between hill or Madesis people. It's all equal. All rights including citizenship rights are equal to all the citizens of the country. One issue they are, they keep on talking and there is a strong feeling in the, even not in Tharai, only in Tharai but in many other parts also. That in Nepal when a Nepali boy married a foreign girl and brings him home we give them, we give her a naturalized citizenship that is provided in the Constitution. But she has to go through certain process. It is not, the Constitution doesn't deny and that is necessary for a country like Nepal. What you have got to understand is Nepal has 1850 kilometers open border with India. Is this true if a Nepali woman marries a foreign man? Yes. He can get a naturalized citizenship. He can get a naturalized citizenship and he also has to go through the same process. I think for women in this context they will get even much faster because that is taken into consideration of the socio-cultural facts of Nepal. In Nepal whether that's good or bad I think we can't say. But in normal situation when a girl is married she goes to the husband's house. It's almost negligible that any boy going to his wife's house. So what I'm trying to say is that because Nepal has 1850 kilometers open border with India. We don't need passport. We don't need visas. We simply go and come and we have so much of close socio-cultural relations. There is a very common tendency of marrying each other on the border side. So it is become that reason. That's the automatic citizenship is not given. He or she will be given citizenship with due process and there is no discrimination. And the fourth issue which is very contentious especially in Tharai is the demarcation of the provinces. Let me tell you very frankly once again if you ask me I'm against federalism in Nepal because I think for a country like Nepal we don't need several states whether that is economically viable or not. It's a big question mark. But since there is a very strong sentiment it has been projected that this is the panacea of all ills. So whether we like it or not now it has become part of the constitution. Is this why you voted against the constitution? Yes on this issue. Yes we voted because so but it's now since it is being part of the constitution now I am in the government it is also my responsibility to implement that and ironically besides the being a foreign minister I am also the minister of federal affairs and local development. That looks into the implementation of the federally structured. I am responsible for that also. Now it is my duty. At present the constitution has provided seven provinces. The Madici parties they have a very vague sort of demand. Sometimes they say that one province for the whole Tharai, sometimes two. But we have told them very clearly that okay if this is your demand we are ready to sit for negotiation. Let's discuss and let's create a consensus. Let's create a consensus through dialogue and amend the constitution accordingly. So this has been the stated position of the government. What I'm trying to do I say is we are not minimizing we are not ignoring we know that that could be as assistant secretary will state has rightly pointed out although if we look at the present situation it doesn't pose any threat but in the long run that might be a big problem. The Maoist insurgency let me share this with the distinguished audience. In 1996 when the Maoist insurgency was started they started with one pistol one homemade gun and 100 approximately 100 ragtag gorilla. But in 10 years time that became that is spread like a wildfire and became a serious threat to our national existence also so we had to compromise. We have that experience in mind so we don't want to minimize any whether that is very significant or not at present moment whether it has any popular base or not but we don't want to completely ignore that and so we are trying our best we have let me see how flexible we can be we have already shown within three months of time before the implementation we already agreed to have the amendment in the constitution. Deputy Prime Minister you've already answered in that response about half of the questions that have come in so well done but I also want to just ask we've been joined by the USAID assistant administrator for Asia and you talked about the development partners. Jonathan Stivers and I want to ask Jonathan if he'd like to ask a question. Thank you Deputy Prime Minister for your words today. I've learned a lot already since I've been here. I know the U.S. government and the American people have been very proud of the role they've played in the recovery in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. I know we at USAID have been involved and active in Nepal for over 60 years and Nepal is in the DNA of USAID. We have people after the tragedy who just came out of the woodwork who speak fluently in the language that want to do everything they can to help and and certainly as as you move forward finding the best ways to help you is is our priority. In the aftermath we sent dart teams within hours of the earthquake. We had pre-positioned supplies. We helped keep the largest hospital open right after the earthquake that saved hundreds of lives and our work together with the government of Nepal at the forefront was just absolutely critical in the immediate aftermath. But as we move forward now into the longer term reconstruction there are great many needs in so many different different sectors of society. I was interested I would be interested in hearing how you would prioritize the needs that you have in your country moving forward in terms of reconstruction of housing or hospitals or schools. We know there's so much need but with so much need what what are the top priorities for for the government moving forward in the reconstruction. And and as you answer that I just want to add in one of the questions that came from the president of the American Nepal Society saying what are the timeline for the local elections as they are key for successful reconstruction. I would like to thank USCID for the support that it has given to Nepal not only on the post earthquake support program but since last almost six decades if not more five decades. I think USCID is a very popular name in Nepal when we talk about development activities. We are very grateful to that regarding the priorities of the reconstruction. Let me see when we see the damages in the field we come to the conclusion that every aspect is equally important. But we have to consider the resources, financial resources, human resources, technical resources. So taking into that consideration our first priority is the construction of private houses. We want to give them support as earliest as possible. This has already been delayed so our first priority is to private houses. Then comes the school buildings and roads, bridges and also there has been a very severe damages on our touristic sites, cultural, historical monuments have been destroyed. So we need to reconstruct that also. We have a five-year timeline, construction of private houses within 18 months, one year to one and a half year. Roads, bridges, three to five years and within five years all other construction work. So this is what we have planned but it depends on many factors. Especially now we see the mechanism is there, environment is there but we still lack human resources. We don't have enough engineers to send to the villages and we do not have enough financial resources also because the places that has been made has also not come. There are places, commitments are there but till now because some donor countries were skeptical whether this would be implemented or not and they were not happy with the pace of work but now I think they will understand the change that has taken place but still we lack financial resources also. Regarding the question of election of the local authorities, I totally agree with the President of Nepal, American Nepal Society. Thank you very much. I know the importance of this institution. Being a Minister for Federal Appearance and Local Development also it is within my responsibility to see to it that the elections are held at the earliest possible. Because of the Maoist insurgency it's been almost 18 years that election hasn't taken place. Since last 13 years the local authorities are run by the civil servants. Now we want to end that as earliest as possible. We need some political consultation. The government is prepared. Election Commission is prepared. And according to our plan with I think I was asking, I know the Nepali date. So I was not aware of the September October, right? October November. So before this fall, we will start the first phase of the election. It will take time. It will take time because in the past, in past also, it has been done in phases. It will take two, three months to hold the election. We are thinking of starting from the earthquake affected districts. There are 14 heavily affected districts. So we want to start with that. And followed by another 31 districts which are marginally affected. And the rest. Deputy Prime Minister, unfortunately we're out of time. I want to thank you for joining us this afternoon. As you can tell, there are, Nepal has many, many people who hold the country close in their hearts. As Assistant Secretary Biswal said, nothing would make any of us happier than to have the full recovery and success for Nepal ahead. We wish you the very best with that effort, Ramil Sankajanos. And Namaste. Thank you, everybody, for joining us. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody.