What are the biggest barriers to economic development in Nepal as of today?
Shakya: I think the biggest barrier to development is the mindset of the people. Financial resources, national and international, will always be available if there is commitment. What we need to do is to change the mindset that believes that we are a small, poor country to one that believes that we have the 40th largest population in the world with a large young population. Q: How do you define changing the mindset? Shakya: It is about becoming optimistic towards the future, about understanding that we have potential that can be harnessed. It’s about ambition. It’s not about starting a business and becoming the president of an association. We have to look at what is big, and think big. We have to get that ambition out, because we have never been ambitious, which is also a result of our past. We have a rent-seeking behaviour which is why Nepalis have never been entrepreneurial. Q: What have been the major political and social interventions that have impacted the Nepali economy? Shakya:
