New Delhi: In an attempt to go past the bitterness of recent incidents and build a “forward-looking relationship”, visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks in the Capital on Saturday and decided on new “game-changer” initiatives including a cross-border electric rail link between Kathmandu and Raxaul in Bihar, connecting Nepal to the Indian railway system, and a separate river transport system that could give Nepal a route all the way to the sea.
The Indian offer to enhance Nepal’s connectivity comes at the time of China’s aggressive infrastructure offensive in the Himalayan country in the form of One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR). Touted as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious project, the OBOR initiative focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. India and Bhutan are the only south Asian countries not to be involved in the ambitious project.
On Saturday India and Nepal also decided to build a “new partnership” in agriculture, defence, energy and trade, a reflection of India’s bid to actively counter China in the region.
Though Mr Oli’s visit is taking place against the backdrop of increasing Chinese influence in Nepal, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale claimed that the countries did not discuss China or OBOR during bilateral talks.
Mr Gokhale said that the two PMs discussed Saarc’s future but the issue of demonetisation (by India in 2016 and its effects on Nepalese nationals) did not come up.
Mr Oli, who is widely seen as pro-China in his approach and policies, said that Nepal wants to “erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between two close neighbours (India and Nepal)”.
He added that Nepal wants to create a “model relationship” with India based on “principles of equality, justice, mutual respect”.
“We need support of our friends. Relation among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect,” he said.
Reciprocating the goodwill, PM Modi said, “Through our efforts, Nepal will get extra connectivity to the ocean... It will get directly connected to the sea... Nepal will be not only land-linked but also water-linked… PM Oli’s vision of ‘prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal’ is compatible to sabka sath, sabka vikas.”
PM Modi added, “We both will prevent misuse of our open borders with each other. We will advance our joint security interests.”
In a veiled reference to the Madhesis, people mostlu of Indian origin residing in the Nepalese plains that border Bihar, Mr Modi expressed hope that Kathmandu will “take all sections along” in Nepal’s march to progress. The Madhesis have often complained of being left out of the power apparatus by the Nepalese hill people and this had strained ties between the two countries in 2015-16.
Mr Oli said he wants “to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement”. He also highlighted the alarming trade deficit and stressed the need to implement measures to expand Nepal’s exports.
“We are connected by easy geography while our cross-border infrastructure is still poor. We discussed the possibility of being linked by river navigation. In this context, I thanked Prime Minister Modiji for positively considering our proposal on inland waterways. Enhanced connectivity will definitely contribute to our desire to be a land-linked country instead of land-locked,” said Mr Oli.
Using a remote button, the two Prime Ministers also inaugurated a check post at Birgunj in Nepal to enhance cross-border trade. They also witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum pipeline in Motihari, Bihar.
Mr Oli said, “I have come to India with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights... Inter-dependence takes many forms between our two countries, ranging from ecological to commercial. Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined.”
“Both of us underlined that the early realisation of the ongoing mega-projects like Pancheshwar, Arun III and Upper Karnali would generate the much desirable impetus and positive precedence for future such projects. I appreciated the Government of India’s initiative to have guidelines and regulation for cross-border trade of electricity. It is definitely a step ahead,” Mr Oli said.
In a joint statement, the two sides said, “The Prime Ministers of India and Nepal... took the landmark decision to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal. This new initiative would enable cost effective and efficient movement of cargo.”
