You excellencies, distinguished guests, representatives from different universities in Nepal and Thailand and my dear friends,

Namaste and Sawadee Khrap!!

It is an honor to address this august gathering. My dear colleagues from Thailand, welcome to the land of Buddha, the city of temples and the country of mountains.

I have always been deeply connected to Thailand. I have visited the country a number of times, as a tourist, as a student and as a professional. I should say that every time I visit your beautiful country that is inhabited by what I like to say, some of the finest people on earth, I am intrigued, fascinated and inspired. I am intrigued to see how within a short period of time the country rose out of the rubbles of underdevelopment and emerged as one of the model countries for the world. I am fascinated to see how the country has managed to maintain its cultural heritage, social values and principles amidst the growing wave of modernization and globalization. But most of all, I am inspired. I am inspired to see how despite occasional natural, political, financial and social challenges, every time Thailand rises up and with all humility, serenity and confidence, says to the world, we are fit and fine. We are Thais. My dear friends from Thailand, I salute you.

I think that another reason, why I, and almost all Nepalese who visit Thailand feel immediately at home in Thailand, is because we are united by our culture and social values. We both grow up listening to the teachings of Buddha and learning the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is engrained in our hearts to respect to the elders and teachers, love everybody, be kind to those who are suffering and consider the greater good before thinking about benefit to the self.

Yet, I wonder what took us so long to come together like this.I do not have an answer to that but I am glad that finally we are together not just as professionals but as friends and neighbors. We have now understood that together we will be better able to co-operate each other and benefit people in both countries. Together we will have more strengths than just the sum of the two. Together, we will be able to explore the humanity, harness the strengths of nature, understand the beauty of culture, identify unrecognized opportunities and finally improve the lives of people in our countries and the rest of the world. But most importantly, there is another reason why we should come together. It is because, we both have the herculean task of educating the new generation. This process is going to be remarkably different than the system in which we were educated. This generation is far better informed than we were, they are far more adventurous than we were, they are far more courageous than we were and they are far more versatile and innovative than we were. For them, sky is the limit. Their interests transcend national boundaries, their ambitions surpass traditional challenges and their strengths outgrow what we are able to offer. Hence, we need to have a paradigm shift in the way we build our academic institutions and thus explore the areas that we have hitherto ignored.

Another area would be technological innovations to harness the forces of nature in a sustainable way and benefit the masses. We both have the responsibility to bring the benefits of science and technology to people from all walks of life so that we can ensure an equitable distribution of the advantages of scientific advancement. It is up to us to develop ways to find the linkage between science and policy, technology and practice to alleviate the sufferings of mankind and make lives better.

Finally, another large area would be health. As we all know Thailand is considered a global leader in terms of the public health achievements it has made within last few decades. A large number of high level public health officials and medical experts in Nepal have been trained in Thailand. For that, we are grateful to you my dear Thai colleagues. But I also believe that there are countless opportunities of collaboration beyond just human resource development. Let us identify state-of-the-art research areas in basic, clinical, public health and implementation science and come up with findings and solutions that will have capacity to heal not just our nations, but a large part of the world as well. Let us identify areas of academic training and exchange so that we are able to build unique joint degree programs that will be coveted by the new generation of health professionals. This is even more pertinent in the current context when we are facing the challenges of climate change, migration related health issues and global health agenda that dominates not just health but also national security and human development.

These are just some areas that I would like to highlight but I am fully aware that there are numerous other sectors as well in which we can work together. My dear friends, whatever we do, bring a small piece of Thailand and establish in Nepal and take a small piece of Nepal and establish in Thailand.

I know when it comes to collaborations, the discussion always get locked ultimately in the point when we say, well how do we get the funds for this?  I cannot give a direct answer to that at this stage; but let me tell you something. I am really fond of trekking in the mountains. When we go for a trek, we first climb a small mountain, take rest for a while, look around us and then we climb another one. Then again we conquer the peak, take rest for a while, gather our strength and continue for the next peak. That is how we surmount seemingly insurmountable challenges. That is how we climb Everest. I would suggest that until we manage to get substantial resources in order to make grand plans, let us use this approach. My own experience of building an institution in Nepal through scratch is a testimony to the fact that this approach is useful. At age 32, when I returned from Europe after almost 15 years, I came back with almost nothing but just a dream to do something good in my place. Almost two decades later, as I look back, I realize that there were ups and downs but somehow at every corner we found a way to solve problems. I am thoroughly convinced now that dreams are the most important things. If we follow them with utmost dedication and sincerity, stars align to support us. So, my dear friends, let us start with what we have with us. I am sure we have a lot with us, most importantly, this outstanding group of dedicated people, committed to succeed.

Finally, I would like to close my speech by what your late prince Mahidol had said many years ago, ‘True success is not in the learning but in its application to the benefit of mankind.’My dear learned friends, let us create a model of success, however small it is that shows how we can collaborate tobenefit the mankind. It is from these small models of success we will build great things and find a way to challenge and change the world.

Thank you