‘Atal ji realised Nepal and India must progress together’
NEWDELHI: Nepal sent its foreign minister Pradeep
Kumar Gyawali to pay homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee after his death on Friday. Gyawali, a senior leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party and a close aide to Prime Minister KP Oli, spoke to
about Vajpayee’s contribution to India-nepal ties, as well as the shifting dynamics of the bilateral relationship. Excerpts from the interview:
Jha Prashant
deepens and Nepal gets embroiled in it further, there would be implications beyond the Nepal border and so it should get resolved politically. There is no specific documentation of the official position on this yet.
But we have a sense that Vajpayee believed that if this problem got resolved, it would be best for not only Nepal but also India. ing each other’s sensitivities, and developing an attitude which places mutual growth and interdependence at the centre of our vision.
This can help us fill the vacuum left by the generation that had deep personal ties. In the meantime, people-to-people ties have many elements now in this era of open societies. We can create networks at the level of cultural, intellectual forums, business, media, which can fill in for the warmth lost by the passing away of such dignitaries. professional relations. But having said that, the fact is our relationship is diverse and unique and nothing can replace that. Yes, I prefer using the word ‘unique’. Very few countries have an open border spanning 1700 kms. There is such an expansive and deep personal cross-border relationship in terms of cultural, religious, economic, marital ties. But it would not be practical to use the term ‘special’ to denote a political or strategic relationship. It does not matter. Ever since the end of the Cold War, the ideological factor has eroded in international relations. States look at trade and economic factors, security, and diaspora and its image as key variables.
Globally, ideology is not very prevalent. Also, every country has its own system. If we believe in democracy, we have to respect the mandate of the sovereign people of that country. In India, the electorate has chosen a strong BJP government.
In Nepal, the electorate has chosen Left forces. And finally, it is better to focus on convergence rather than divergence. We also share broader South Asian values. Our ideologies should not have an impact on ties. Nepal has an independent foreign policy as an independent, sovereign country. The main thrust is amity with all, enmity with none. We have told both our neighbours we want to benefit from your economic growth. We have no global or regional ambitions.
Our ambition is limited to the fact that we want rapid economic growth to make up for the lost decades of conflict and political transition. This is not possible without deepening our connectivity, trade, investment, tourism, peopleto-people relationship with you in a comprehensive manner and benefiting from your growth.
While doing this, you have no reason to doubt us. We have, under a consistent policy, never allowed our soil to be used against you. We will respect your genuine concerns.
But we cannot allow relations to improve or dip with one at the cost of the other. This is our starting point.
We are very hopeful of the increased exchange and contact and understanding between India and China. This is not only instrumental for regional stability and prosperity but also in the global context, where unpredictability has increased in the area of trade in goods and services, where there is growing obstruction in the movement of people, and where the international order seems shaken. The improvement in India-china ties will have a far-reaching impact. Nepal can benefit from this.