Dr Prabin Shrestha (President, JUAAN)
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere and heartfelt congratulations and greetings to His Majesty Emperor of Japan Mr Naruhito on this auspicious day. We would also like to extend the message of very Happy Birthday to his majesty and wish a healthy and pleasant life ahead.
It’s a matter of great and immense pleasure for us and in fact it’s a great honor to be here today and to represent our Alumni JUAAN. We all the members of Japanese Universities Alumni Association Nepal (JUAAN) are deeply indebted to and grateful to Your Excellency for your kind and historic cordial words about our Alumni JUAAN. It is a great honor and a memorable and moment for JUAAN to receive such a distinction and appreciation from the Foreign Minister of Japan Mr. Hayashi Yoshimasa. We are very much thankful to the government of Japan, the ministry of foreign affairs of Japan and honorable minister Mr Hayashi for this recognition.
At the same time, we would be much obliged if Your Excellency would kindly convey our message of appreciation, gratitude and deep respect to Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Japan Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa for recognizing our alumni and recognizing our activities so far.
We have done our humble activities and done it with pleasure. We being a graduate of Japanese university and an alumni member, we have been doing it as our routine and regular job and responsibility and we never took it as our extra job. We have been doing it as a part from our own professional contribution. We had never thought it would deserve such a highly reputed recognition from the government of Japan.
This is a great honor for us and in fact now on we will devote more than ever to the promotion of friendship and understanding between the people of our two countries.
Just to recall once again, the history of Nepalese students in Japan is over 120 years old. Then PM Mr Dev Shumsher Rana decided to send 8 students from the general public of Nepal to the foreigner country for higher study. He was liberal minded, reformer and visionary. Japan happened to be the first country for Nepalese students for the higher study. Similarly, for Japan also, Nepal happened to be the first country to receive the foreigner students formally by the G-to-G understanding.
Upon returning to country, those eight students brought, in addition to knowledge and skill of various technologies, plants of several fruits and flowers, namely Persimmon, Chestnut, Chrysanthemum, and Wisteria–in Nepali–Haluwabed, Kattus, Godabariphool and nillahar. You can seen in Kathmandu particularly Godabari botanical garden.
Regarding our Alumni, JUAAN it was first started in 1963 by just 5 students as a club. Then it was formally stablished in 1973. So this year it is the golden jubilee of our Alumni. So this year it’s a 50th anniversary of JUAAN, it’s a golden jubilee of JUAAN. At this moment I feel proud to say that JUAAN is the first Japanese University Alumni in South Asia and the second in the whole Asia
JUAAN is not only a simple alumni association, it is the bridge between Nepal and Japan, it’s a bridge between people of the two countries and it’s a bridge between the students of these countries, it is the organization promoting friendship between Nepal and Japan.
JUAAN has its members belonging to wide varieties of professions, they belong to wide varieties of expertise. In the field of science and technology, in the field of humanity and social development, in the field of human resources, JUAAN can contribute significantly as far as Nepal Japan relationship is concerned.
In that sense JUAAN has a huge potential. Somehow I feel JUAAN is not being able to use those potentialities due to lack of opportunities. JUAAN is missing those opportunities. JUAAN is lacking the opportunities and JUAAN is not having enough opportunities. JUAAN is always looking for the opportunities where it can use its potentialities.
The only thing is JUAAN has limitations of resources and that’s why it is not being able to develop and carry out its own programs and projects.
So JUAAN would like to request the concerned authority of government of Nepal and also the Embassy of Japan for giving us the opportunity by which JUAAN can utilize it’s potentialities and establish another milestone in the history of Nepal Japan Friendship. JUAAN no only looks back to the history, but it wants to create another history, a new history.
So JUAAN needs to go a long way in the path of Nepal Japan friendship and JUAAN is dedicated to promote our friendship with each other.
Once again, I on behalf of JUAAN would like to thank ministry of foreign affairs of Japan and honorable foreign minister for honoring JUAAN and its activities, embassy of Japan and HE Ambassador for always guiding JUAAN and for taking us hand in hand in the path of Nepal Japan friendship.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to respectful senior member and my colleagues of JUAAN for leading and brining up JUAAN to this stage today.
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President Dr Shrestha’s speech after receiving the honour from Government of Japan at Resident of Japanese Ambassador in Kathmandu on March 15, 2023 on the occasion of His Majesty Emperor of Japan Mr Naruhito’s birthday celebration.
