Without diluting its position that Nepal’s territorial claims are not supported by any fact or evidence, India is seeking to restart work on economic projects and improve business ties.
A series of high-level visits to Nepal, including that of Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla As of Thursday, it is likely that in the coming weeks it will give way to virtual meetings focused on economic and commercial relations. These include meetings between the trade and energy secretaries of the 2 countries.
“I also wanted to come here before, but could not do it due to Covid-19. We have a very solid relationship with Nepal and our effort will be to see how we can move it forward,” Shringla said after arriving in Kathmandu.
During her visit, Shringla is expected to pave the way for a more substantial engagement by focusing on cooperation on Covid-19 and reviewing the progress of ongoing projects.
India’s decision to finally push the update button with Nepal after the pandemic lockdown and border tensions hasn’t come too soon with reports from Kathmandu saying that powerful Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe will visit Nepal on Sunday, 2 days. after Shringla’s visit.
Wei’s visit will come amid reports that China has invaded the land of Nepal. China has received a lot of adverse publicity recently in Nepal due to this alleged PLA invasion despite official denials from both Nepal and China.
While India has accepted the fact that Nepal is officially part of China’s BRI, it remains nervous about Beijing’s defense ties with Nepal. Nepal and China drew attention here with their first even joint military exercise in 2017 aimed, as the Nepalese authorities said, to promote military relations and improve interoperability between the armed forces of the 2 countries.
India has had special military ties with Nepal and the Indian army continues to recruit in the mountainous areas of its eastern neighbor. Right now there are 32,000 Nepalese Gurkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army. According to the government, India is also working to modernize the Nepalese army by providing equipment and training.
India sought to break the stalemate in connection with a visit to Kathmandu earlier this month by army chief MM Naravane. The visit helped address concerns that arose from Nepal’s dispute with Naravane over his comment that the Nepalese protest over the India road to the strategic location Lipulekh Pass It was at the urging of someone else. The then Defense Minister of Nepal, Ishwor Pokharel, had accused Naravane of insulting and hurting the feelings of Nepalese Gurkhas who died while serving in the Indian army. Pokharel was relieved of the defense portfolio by Nepal PM KP Oli ahead of Naravane’s visit in what some saw as a positive “sign” to India.
While maintaining that joining BRI is in the national interest of Nepal, Oli has called for rapid implementation of Indian mega-projects such as the multipurpose Pancheshwar project and has said that Nepal wants more investment from India in sectors such as hydropower, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure. and you. Shringla is expected to address some of these issues during her visit.
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