Answer:
Nepal has huge natural potentials like many rivers running down from the Himalayas in high speed, nearly all-year long sunshine, making it an ideal place to utilize hydro- and solar power. But what Nepal lacks is expertise. So to utilize the potentials, Nepal has to employ Indian, Chinese and other experts and even companies. Due to not too transparent system and changing governments with differing decisions, foreign investment is not effective in Nepal. Projects are started, then stopped half the way…
There is also a kind of unbased “paranoia” when foreign companies offer help (in exchange for business opportunities) in these projects. This fear is based on outdated superstitions and xenophobia towards Indians or Western companie and charities (they might try to secretly overtake the land?). This era is but not an era of colonization anymore, history had changed. Also, in spite of the wide belief, most Western charities are not wishing to convert Nepalis to Christianity in exchange for offering help in any technical expertize, as the majority of the West now is secular and not Christian.
In my modest opinion, Nepali governments should lessen the fear from foreign investors and allow some of them to make a real change, even if it seems financially less beneficial in a short -term for the country. Nepali decision-makers should understand the long-term benefits of enabling foreign investments in a development of the whole country, infrastructure, life standard of Nepalis.
Next: the education system of Nepal is painfully outdated. If Nepal cared more about “brain-exchange” programs, cooperation between Nepali and Western universities, sooner or later Nepal could grow its own engineering experts. The talents are there, but they have no opportunities. Also, why should a developing country charge high fees for study at universities? This is blocking the development of Nepal. If higher study was free in Nepal as it is in Europe, in a single generation many energy experts would appear and Nepal would look like Europe!
Thus the problem is not real, but “psychological”. The resources are there, but the mentality is backward and everyone wants a piece of the cake for himself. For real changes human beings must learn to sacrifice, and this counts also for governments and politicians. First there is a need to change the way of thinking, and the development will come after it like its tail
