French Ambassador to Nepal François-Xavier Léger came to Nepal in September 2018. He is now moving on to his next assignment after completing his tenure in Nepal.

Prior to this, he worked as an Auditor of the mid-career session of the Diplomatic and Consular Institute from 2014 to 2017. He also served as Deputy Head of Central Services and Logistics (Buildings and Logistics) since September 2014.

Nepal and France have stood together on several fronts, including people-to-people relations, peace-keeping operations, among others.

Dr. Pramod Jaiswal, Strategic Affairs Editor at Khabarhub, spoke to Ambassador François-Xavier Léger on Nepal-France bilateral relations and his experience serving as an Ambassador in Nepal.  Excerpts:

How has Nepal-France Relations evolved over the years?

First of all, thank you for your invitation. I am honored to be invited today and I would like to say good evening to all the listeners and viewers.

I have been here for the last three years. I am completing my tenure here and, I am very lucky that I could be here in Nepal during the Seventieth Anniversary of bilateral relations between France and Nepal.

It was a great opportunity not only to commemorate the 70 years of relations, but also to celebrate it and try to pave the way for the next 70 years.

It was a great occasion to take stock of what had been done in the past and also to highlight a lot of important aspects of the bilateral relation, especially in the field of mountaineering, for example, but also in the field of economic cooperation and people exchange.

It was also a very important occasion to flag up the fact that France and Nepal share a lot of commonalities, we share the same values and we believe in democracy, human rights and multilateralism- which is a peaceful resolution of conflict.

So, in the international arena, we share a lot of things and we cooperate a lot. Thus, this anniversary gave us the opportunity to highlight it and try to move forward and to create new opportunities for cooperation.

How do you evaluate the 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries?

France and Nepal, can be more aware of those commonalities, and developed much more bilateral dialogue.

Three years ago, we instituted a bilateral constitution mechanism at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the foreign secretary, the joint secretary, and so, now, we have this consultation on an annual basis, and I can say that it is very substantial, very interesting.

I also feel that in the field of economic relations, the trade will develop and more French companies will express interest in Nepal and will come here to see the business opportunities, talk with the Nepalese businessmen, and try to develop some business here, which could be mutually profitable for French and Nepali private sector.

I have some relation with French companies, and it is very encouraging and I’m sure that in the future, thanks to the political stability and the investment-friendly position of the government, we will manage to develop it further.

A prominent member of G7, France ranks among the top 10 largest economies of the world and has always been a formidable player in the international economy. In this context, how can Nepal and France further boost economic partnership?

France, like the other EU member states, is ready to cooperate and develop industrial and Economic Cooperation with Nepal, in some very strategic and important fields for the development of the country [Nepal], especially in the field of infrastructure, telecommunication, and technologies, which allows to fill the digital gap between, for example, Kathmandu and some of the remote areas.

All these French technologies can definitely help the country to develop much more. However, I think Nepal’s economic growth outside the COVID times is very high, i.e. between 6 and 7%.

The major leading companies and groups in Nepal are very active, therefore companies and groups as such can too develop the relationship with France.

I think if more companies, private sector could know each other better, it will certainly find many opportunities to develop business relations.

Tourism is the backbone of Nepal’s economy. Hence, in what ways can France and Nepal work together to enhance Nepal’s tourism?

We normally have more than 30,000 French tourists coming to Nepal. But besides this, which is much more important, is the fact that France and Nepal pay great importance to the role of tourism in the development and the economic activities.

When Nepal was aiming to reach 2 million tourists a year, in France, we are aiming at 100 million tourists a year. So, the fact is that it is for both of us, strategic sectors should bring both of us together to cooperate more, discuss about tourism, specifically in a more practical way.

Both countries can discuss how to develop or diversify tourism, how to bring in more tourists, what are the obstacles we go through, what sort of problems or mistakes should be avoided, how to cope with the issue of climate change and its impact on tourism, which is very important for the French Alps. Thus, focus on how to take care of the tourism environment.

I think we need more discussions on such aspects and every time I get to meet professionals in the field of tourism in Nepal, whether it is the Ministry of Tourism or the Nepal Tourism Board, I invite them to come to visit France and visit their counterparts to talk and see what we are doing and perhaps also find some inspiration to develop tourism here in Nepal. The door is always open and it is possible and can be materialized.

Excellency, as you are aware, the last visit by the French President to Nepal was in 1983. Since then there have been 7 visits to India, Nepal’s next door. Where does Nepal stand in French foreign policy? Can we expect high-level visits to Nepal any time soon?

This is a very good question, thank you so much. Yes, the last visit of the French President to Nepal was in 1983. If you look at the outcome of the visit, it was really interesting and significant because at that time a lot of agreements were signed regarding, for example, the protection of investment and development of cultural and technical cooperation.

So numerous projects went let’s say after this visit. Therefore, Nepal is important to France in some sectors for example- the peacekeeping operation, it was mentioned in the Nepali press a few weeks back that Nepal is now the second contributor to UN peacekeeping operations.

It means that on the field French soldiers and Nepali soldiers stand shoulder by shoulder in different theaters everywhere in the world and sometimes in very dangerous places.  Nepal and France share the same values on multilateralism; this is a concrete example.

This is why we should develop political dialogue and I’ve on my part been advocating in favor of a high official political visit to Nepal.

Unfortunately, it couldn’t take place during the 70th anniversary followed by the COVID-19 crisis and as a result, I had to play down my ambitions. Nonetheless, I’m confident that when the circumstances will be better some French officials will pay a visit to Nepal.

How is France coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How can France support Nepal in the fight against the pandemic?

First, I think for all countries and for all governments this pandemic is a new issue. So, I think no one can give any lesson to any country on how we should handle the pandemic.

In France, we too made our best efforts to fight this pandemic. France had its first wave, second wave and third wave and now is entering the 4th wave.

I read the figures this morning and now we have 30,000 new cases, which are very significant. So, we are doing our best in terms of social distancing, prevention measures, treating the patients, and also in terms of vaccination.

Even though it’s not easy, we are doing our best now and this 4th wave is affecting a lot of the French population.

In regard to helping Nepal, France is one of the founding members of the COVAX facility. This is how we have channelized all the vaccines we provide to the world, to a kind of common basket i.e. through the COVAX facility.

Based on this rationale, we don’t do it in a strictly bilateral way. At the end of August or early September, another shipment of COVAX facility vaccines should come to Nepal. And as you are well aware countries like the US, Japan, for example, provided vaccines to the COVAX facility in July.

This is how we are proceeding currently. We also brought a shipment of medical equipment and supplies and protective equipment to Nepal in June along with 7 tons of equipment.

And quite soon we’ll be bringing some spare parts and kits for oxygen plants located in hospitals, not only in Kathmandu but also in other provinces. We believe it will help the hospitals to face the increasing need for oxygen for the patients in case the third wave occurs in the coming weeks or months.

Over the years, France has become one of the preferred destinations for Nepali students. What kind of challenges are the Nepali students likely to face when they first visit France? What would your suggestions be for anyone planning to pursue their studies in France?

First of all, Nepalese students come to France to study some specific fields – especially management, computer engineering, hospitality, cuisine, and literature and science too.

What most of the students face after arriving in France is the high cost of living, they are quite surprised by the expensive living cost in France.

So, I would suggest the Nepali students who wish to go to France, first, has to be careful and make sure they have enough money for their everyday expenses, such as accommodation fee and other expenses.

Otherwise, they may face some difficulty. Some students believe and plan to work in some restaurants however, it’s not so easy. It can bring something, but at least they should calculate their own expenditure to make sure they have enough money for their everyday expenses.

Another is the issue of language, obviously, it’s better to learn a little bit of French before going to France. I would like to flag up the fact that we Alliance Francaise here in Kathmandu, which can provide French language lessons.

However due to COVID, they are currently operating online. They’re very efficient and help and bring some basic knowledge for Nepali students who want to go to France

Excellency, after having spent almost 3 years in Nepal, you might have some of your memorable unforgettable moments during your stay. Would you like to share your experience and thoughts as Ambassador in Nepal?

Yes, in fact, I have many fond memories of Nepal. Firstly, when I arrived in Nepal, in order to present my credentials to the President, we commuted through the horse chariot to reach the presidential palace. It was really surprising and amazing to have that kind of experience.

Another one was a different experience, in February last year we went to Gokyo Lake, it was an event organized by Visit Nepal 2020. I attended the event with ice skaters on the Gokyo Lake and the event was organized to promote tourism in Nepal.

The overall experience was very surprising and astonishing. Also, I should mention the visit to France for the ceremony of Prime Minister KP Oli.

On his visit to France, he met the then French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and I could go to his ceremony. I have fond memories of the time we spent there and I could really enjoy that visit.

It was the high-level official visit, the first one of the Nepali Prime Minister since 2001. And last but not the least, on more of a personal level, I had many opportunities to travel and do some cycling around Kathmandu valley around Kathmandu vicinity.

And I enjoyed just seeing how people are living their everyday life and observing the sceneries and nature of everyday life in Kathmandu. It was overall a really great experience for me.

Before wrapping up, do you have any message to the people of Nepal or anything you would like to pass on as an outgoing ambassador to the upcoming French Ambassador to Nepal?

To the people of Nepal, I would like to say thank you. I would like to express my gratitude for three years of warm welcoming and hospitality.

The three years, during which I could feel the qualities and talents of Nepali people. I could feel how resilient, strong they are in the face of difficulties while always being in a positive mode and it was a great lesson for me to see that and I believe that’s what French people too could learn from Nepali people.

I know some students who study between 6:00 and 9:00 in the morning and then they go to work to pay the tuition fee, so I think that’s really great.

They have a huge asset and talent to take the best from globalization and the global economy. Young people here are really smart and talented. I think they should always remain positive and should take over as they have a lot of qualities.

It is difficult for me to give any recommendation to my successor, nevertheless, I would like to tell him to be positive, come here, meet the people, go to the street, walk in the street and talk with the people.

Leave Kathmandu, go to the provinces, and try to feel how people are living. Try to understand deeply the culture of the people and their way of living and the complexity of the society which is very interesting.

And I think not only in terms of culture, religion, and tradition but also in terms of global exposure we can learn a lot from Nepal and Nepali people. So, that could be my recommendation.