Nepal’s PM starts trip to redefine ties with Delhi
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s premier began a three-day official trip to India yesterday, seeking to redefine relations as those between equals and end the traditional bhai-bhai (elder brother-younger brother) ties that Nepalis have l ong found condescending.
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, whose communist alliance swept general and provincial elections last year, arrived in New Delhi in the morning and was scheduled to meet with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later in the day.
India has traditionally enjoyed unrivaled political clout in Nepal.
However, that has been rapidly ceded to China since 2015 when India imposed a crippling months-long blockade to show its displeasure with its northern neighbour’s new Constitution.
Mr Oli’s unrelenting nationalistic stand at the time, in which he was serving his previous stint as prime minister, earned him unrivaled political popularity in Nepal.
It was then that he signed a 10-point agreement with China for greater connectivity by roads and railways, apart from securing transit access to Chinese ports for trade with third countries and opening the Nepalese market for Chinese fuel.
All these factors put Mr Oli, who enjoys the confidence of three-fourths majority in parliament, the strongest mandate a Nepali prime minister has received since the advent of democracy in 1990, in a unique position of strength to negotiate new terms of ties with India.
“More than anything, this visit will be about laying foundations for a relationship as equals,” Guna Raj Luitel, editor-in-chief of Nagarik newspaper, said.
“No prime minister took this stand with the consistency that Oli has. There is a realisation in New Delhi that it is time they took this seriously.”
Some Indian analysts are saying India’s “neighbourhood first” policy is in a shambles thanks to foreign policy missteps.
“As India stoops to conquer Nepal by laying out the red carpet for the visit of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli later this week, it is indicating a new selfawareness that its foreign policy missteps have allowed China to gain ground in the neighbourhood,” wrote Indian commentator Jyoti Malhotra in the Indian Express earlier this week.
Also this week, The Hindu newspaper quoted an unnamed Indian official as saying: “Expect a visit that sets the course for the future of ties between India and Nepal.”
In a joint briefing to diplomats in Kathmandu last week, Mr Oli said Nepal would adopt an “independent” foreign policy, which has been widely interpreted as a policy to engage more with China while decreasing dependence on India.
In an interview carried by The Hindu newspaper yesterday, Mr Oli elaborated on his government’s foreign policy.
“Nepal’s foreign policy is always independent ... We speak of sovereign equality and interests. There may be competition between our big neighbours, but we have no competition with either,” he told the daily.