War is generally defined as violent conflicts between the states or nations. It has been argued that a nation will go to war if the benefits of war are deemed to outweigh the disadvantages, and if there is a sense that there is not another mutually agreeable solution. People have argued that wars are fought primarily for economic, religious, political reasons, and ideological reasons.
With that being said, one of the biggest events currently happening is the war between Ukraine and Russia. Some of the casualties of this war are:
- There are 5,587 confirmed deaths in Ukraine, and the true number is believed to be in the tens of thousands. The number of refugees has surpassed 6.6 million.
- 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers and as many as 25,000 Russians soldiers are said to be killed.
- Twenty percent of Ukraine’s territory has been captured by the Russian troops.
- The destruction has already cost Ukraine at least $113.5 billion, and it may need more than $200 billion to rebuild.
- Both the countries inflation have spiked with price growth expected to be 18%-23% in Russia and Ukraine’s inflation to be in average 20.5% in 2022
These are just some impacts caused by the war between these two countries with most of the casualties faced by Ukraine. The casualties of the war have not been limited to these two countries but the world itself has been suffering from its consequences. In today’s globalized market, many countries are dependent on Russia’s and Ukraine’s products and have suffered massively due to the ongoing war. One such country that has suffered due to the ongoing war is Nepal.
Impacts in Nepal
Despite having no direct ties in relations for trades and imports with both Ukraine and Russia, the consequence of war still seems to have affected the country. The Covid-19 pandemic had just begun to stabilize and all the sectors were trying to recover from the losses, but the war has halted the recovery rate of the sectors. The first sector which has been affected is the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). There has been a price hike of crude oil and gas in the international market, and most of the imports of gas and oil indirectly comes from Russia. Due to the war Russia has been unable to consistently supply oil, leading to its shortage.
Another sector the war has impacted in Nepal is the foreign investments(FDI). Russia as of July 15, 2020 has contributed to NPR 694 million in FDI, which gave employment opportunities to 1,464 individuals in 42 different enterprises. With foreign countries especially in Europe trying to recover from the economic collapse due to the war, the FDI of Nepal is expected to further decrease, as the war is not expected to end anytime soon. The price of commodities such as food, soybean oil, palm oil and iron in foreign countries has been on a rise, to stabilize the economy of their country, so this just makes it difficult for Nepal,which depends on imported goods.
Lastly, the war between Ukraine and Russia has impacted the Tourism sector of the country. As per the reports released by Nepal Tours and Travel Association (NTTA), about 4000 to 5000 tourists from Russia visited Nepal in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, 283 Russians and 103 Ukrainians purchased peak climbing permits through the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). So, analyzing the numbers of tourists from both the countries and other countries trying to revive their economy from the effects of the war, the tourism sector has taken a massive hit.
Conclusion
In today’s Globalized market, where countries have been dependent on one another, an event like this has caused a massive effect on many countries. The event just shows how war is very harmful not only for the engaged parties but also for parties that are dependent on the goods and services provided by the countries involved in the war. As said earlier despite Nepal not having direct ties with both Ukraine and Russia, the war has still affected the country’s economy. War does not benefit anyone, it just creates more victims and suffering. So, I would like to end this Blog with a quote from the Dalai Lama: “War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy or suffering”.