05/20/2026
We were honored to host a high-level diaspora policy dialogue at Stanford University on May 15, 2026, in collaboration with Nepal Policy Institute. TO WATCH: https://fb.watch/HcPuQpHKai/
“A Roadmap for Strategic Diaspora Engagement: Building Knowledge Bridges for Nepal”
The three-hour program brought together Nepali-origin professionals, academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, technologists, students, journalists, and policy-oriented participants from across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond to explore how Nepal can move beyond a primarily remittance-centered approach toward more structured diaspora knowledge and capability engagement.
The program opened with remarks from current GNPN President Niley Shrestha, who reflected on GNPN’s contributions since its establishment in 2006. He also recalled the distinguished leaders, professionals, and public intellectuals hosted in the Bay Area through GNPN’s signature dialogue series, “GNPN Kurakani,” over the past two decades, and expressed his pleasure in welcoming Dr. Khagendra Raj Dhakal from Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) as the featured speaker in the same series.
The session was led by Dr. Khagendra Raj Dhakal, Founder and Chair of Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) and Specialist Lecturer at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Dhakal delivered his vision for diaspora knowledge engagement during the opening presentation session, followed by an interactive workshop in which participants were divided into five thematic groups to discuss practical mechanisms and policy ideas related to diaspora knowledge engagement for Nepal. The entire program was moderated by Ms. Nisha Thapa from GNPN.
The discussion focused particularly on the emerging idea of “Diaspora Knowledge Bridges” — a framework aimed at creating practical pathways through which globally connected Nepali expertise, research, innovation, and professional networks can contribute more systematically to Nepal’s long-term national development.
Participants were enthusiastically engaged in forming policy ideas for Nepal through a practical thematic workshop for collaboration between diaspora and Nepal-based institutions in five major areas:
- policy and governance
- research and universities
- innovation and entrepreneurship
- youth leadership and mentorship
- digital and civic engagement
Speaking during the program, Dr. Dhakal stated:
“Nepal already has a deeply connected global community. The challenge now is not whether the diaspora cares about Nepal, but whether Nepal can build trusted and structured systems capable of converting global connection into long-term national capability.”
He further emphasized:
“The future of Nepal will not be shaped only within its borders. It will also be shaped by how effectively Nepal connects the intelligence, creativity, and commitment of Nepali diaspora across the world.”
Dr. Dhakal also highlighted findings from a recent preliminary diaspora engagement study conducted by NPI Fellow Liza Maharjan. Referring to observations from Nepali diaspora communities in the US, UK, and Australia, he noted that while there is strong willingness among globally connected Nepalis to contribute to Nepal, only around 20% reported being meaningfully engaged, whereas nearly 70% expressed interest in contributing but lacked clear pathways or mechanisms to do so.
“This shows us that there is a huge opportunity,” Dr. Dhakal remarked. “The issue is not whether the diaspora cares about Nepal. The real challenge is whether there are proper channels, trusted platforms, and institutional mechanisms that can translate goodwill into meaningful collaboration and long-term national capability.
Dr. Dhakal also shared that the current Foreign Minister, Hon. Shishir Khanal, has expressed strong interest in meaningfully engaging diaspora knowledge networks and is particularly interested in hearing recommendations directly from diaspora communities regarding how they genuinely wish to contribute and be engaged.
He emphasized that future diaspora engagement mechanisms should be designed as mutually beneficial collaborations in which both Nepal and globally connected Nepalis gain value. He further noted that it is ultimately the responsibility of the state and relevant institutions to create trusted systems and practical pathways capable of facilitating such long-term engagement.
Participants strongly agreed on the need for a more structured diaspora engagement policy framework, noting that the current Government has increasingly recognized the diaspora as an important strategic partner in achieving Nepal’s broader national development ambitions.
Concluding the workshop, Dr. Dhakal invited GNPN representatives to join a joint NPI–GNPN Policy Task Force that would work toward developing a preliminary Diaspora Knowledge Recapitalization Framework and operational roadmap. The framework envisions a collaborative and mutually beneficial ecosystem connecting diaspora professionals and networks, Nepal-based institutions and counterparts, and relevant government stakeholders through structured engagement mechanisms.
According to Dr. Dhakal, the initial draft of the operational concept paper is expected to be prepared within the next two weeks, after which the dialogue will gradually expand to broader global Nepali knowledge networks and professional communities worldwide.
The program attracted participants from diverse professional and academic backgrounds, including Nepali-origin technology leaders, journalists, financial professionals, academics, researchers, think-tank representatives, entrepreneurs, and Stanford-affiliated scholars and professionals from Silicon Valley.
GNPN and NPI emphasized that the initiative is intended as a non-partisan policy dialogue and knowledge diplomacy effort aimed at contributing constructive ideas toward Nepal’s evolving diaspora engagement thinking and future policy development.
The organizers noted that the Stanford dialogue marks the beginning of a broader international conversation on how Nepal can better engage globally distributed Nepali expertise through practical, institutional, and future-oriented approaches.
