The economic fallout of the confrontation between Russia and the West is reverberating across the world. Amid a slew of economic and political measures designed to hit Russia where it matters the most, the West (particularly the United States and the United Kingdom) has decided to ban Russian oil; and the European Union, dependent on gas deliveries from Russia, has agreed to curb supplies. It is a known fact that the Russian economy is heavily reliant on energy supplies, but so are the economies of Western nations, particularly the European countries. For the past two years, economies worldwide haven’t found a stable footing.

The price of oil in particular, which tumbled in the wake of the pandemic due to lower demand, has surged to nearly $130 per barrel. With the current sanctions against Russia, the price of Brent is now threatening to soar to greater heights, which will, in all certainty, jeopardise economies trying to bounce back from the relentless bashing they have suffered since the beginning of 2020. These are just the repercussions of the sanctions to be levied against Russia. The war has also affected the supply of wheat and barley, one of the major food crops in Nepal and South Asia.

And with Nepal already facing inflationary heat on food and bare essentials, the upswing in wheat and barley prices will undoubtedly add to the existing pressures on food prices as Russia and Ukraine account for 30 percent of the world’s traded wheat. All this reflects on the nature of interdependency that we have wittingly or unwittingly become part of in the last few decades. Who could have imagined that a falling-out between two countries that share no significant economic ties with Nepal could affect us in the most unforeseen areas, primarily concerning agriculture? The war may reduce Russia and Ukraine to a basket case, but no one country will escape completely unscathed.

A culmination of various worrying factors seems to put Nepal in a precarious position that is bound to end in an economic meltdown. With a fast-depreciating currency and the country primarily reliant on imports, the current crisis doesn’t bode well for the Himalayan republic. The rising cost of all commodities from energy to food will ultimately be passed on to the final consumer. And for the nation, in general, that is facing a foreign exchange reserve crisis; there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Perhaps it is time that our authorities took small steps, albeit important ones, in making Nepal less reliant on imports and shielding it from the consequences of global conflicts. To begin with, the administration should bring about policies that will encourage people to rely on the country's abundant electricity to meet our energy needs. But for that to happen, the crumbling infrastructure needed to facilitate the distribution of electric energy needs to be taken care of. Of course, it is easier said than done; but we need to start somewhere. And if we reasonably manage to plug one area that directly impacts our economy and drains foreign exchange reserves, we can consider it a decent start.