Kathmandu May 30

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said the major goal of the government is attainment of  socialism with typical Nepali attributes.

The government has concentrated all its efforts on realising the motto of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis’ and the goals of the government are very clear — to graduate from the LDC status by 2022 and attain middle-income country status by 2030, the PM said at an international seminar on Marxism and socialism that began here today.

Sixteen communist and socialist parties across the world are participating in the seminar.  “Our priorities are clear — promoting nationalism and democracy, strengthening national unity on the basis of social harmony, ensuring social justice by ending all forms of discrimination, inequalities and suppression and attainment of economic development and prosperity within a short span of time,” said PM Oli.

He said the path towards economic development is clear —  effective and leading role of the government, economic policy guaranteeing meaningful and robust participation of the private sector, effective role of cooperatives and community sector, foreign investment in national priority areas and different models of public-private partnerships.

PM Oli said, “We pursue a foreign policy of maintaining close relations with neighbours and all friendly countries on the basis of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-interference and mutual respect and benefits. The size of countries can be different in terms of geography and population, but sovereignty and national esteem have the same value for all.”

PM Oli further said interference, dominance and undermining others would not be acceptable. “We stand for peaceful resolution of international disputes and believe that current global political and economic order should be changed by prioritising the interests of developing countries and their people,” he said.

PM Oli said, “Thirty years from now, when Nepali Communist movement would be hundred years old, Nepal will have reached closer to the level of a developed country, both in material and cultural terms. We will be able to tell our future generations that Nepali Communist movement has proved its relevance by building a prosperous Nepal; and has successfully fulfilled the responsibility placed on our shoulders by history.”

Nepal Communist Party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the new party would work towards building socialist society with correct strategies for strengthening peoples’ democracy. “The tactical line of the new party is peace, prosperity of the people and national self-dependence. Considering the positive and negative aspects in the practice of socialism in the 21st century, we have come to a conclusion that a thorough analysis of the original characteristics and ways of implementing it is a must to come up with a potential new model of socialism,” he said.

Dahal said the analysis of the positive and negative lessons of history to come up with a new model of socialism is the historical responsibility of Marxists all over the world. “We must have to be very prompt in grasping the opportunity to develop and nourish socialism both in ideological and practical terms,” he said.

“Protection and implementation of democratic values confirming human rights and periodic elections are the heart and soul of a democracy,” Dahal said. Realising the political and social trends of modern society he said, “We have thus exercised socialism compatible to the modern era and ground reality of our country.”

National Co-convener of Socialist Alliance Australia Alex Bainbridge, Secretary of Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh General Saiful Suq, Secretary General of Socialist Party of Bangladesh General Khalequzzaman, Deputy Director General of the Communist Party of China General Ma Xue Song, MLPD Central committee member of Germany Jorg Weidemann, national secretariat member of Communist Party of India Rajendra Kanam, in-charge of foreign affairs of Japanese Communist Party Morihara Kimitoshi presented papers at the seminar today.

Central Committee member of Communist Party of the Russian Federation Roman Kononenko and General Secretary of Communist Party of Sri-Lanka DEW Gunasekara also presented their papers.