External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has concluded a >significant three day trip to Nepal , which has set the template for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kathmandu in early August. Ms. Swaraj travelled to the Nepalese capital to reignite after a gap of >23 years, the Indo-Nepal Joint Commission , the appropriate forum for taking stock of the entire gamut of India-Nepal relations. She also engaged with all important segments of the political spectrum, including UCPN-Maoist chief and Leader of the Opposition Pushpa Kamal Dahal, apart from President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. These meetings across the political divide signal an inclusive approach pursued by India in its engagement with Nepal, ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister on August 3.
Mr. Modi’s visit follows a renewed thrust imparted by the new government to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), whose importance was underscored by the presence of its top leaders at Mr. Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Of the SAARC members, the Prime Minister has already visited Bhutan, held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, and is now ready to set foot in the Himalayan republic. Consistent with the NDA’s approach, there is a prominent economic, specifically energy dimension, to Mr. Modi’s visit. The joint communiqué issued at the end of Ms. Swaraj’s visit specified prioritisation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project on the Mahakali river that borders India and Nepal. The political turf has also changed significantly ahead of Mr. Modi’s visit, following domestic changes within Nepal and Kathmandu’s growing ties with China. From an Indian perspective, nurturing hopes of a broadly zero-sum foreign policy by Nepal, would be unrealistic, if not naive, despite the special political and cultural ties shared by New Delhi and Kathmandu. The timing of Mr. Modi’s visit demands a recalibration, including the exploration of an imaginative India-Nepal-China trilateral partnership, in areas such as hydropower, with India as a possible end-user. In the long run, Nepal could also become a candidate to benefit from the recently formed BRICS bank, opening the prospects of convergence between SAARC and BRICS. During her visit, Ms. Swaraj suggested a relook of the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which critics, not necessarily with total conviction, have argued has symbolised India’s “big brother” attitude. However, by demonstrating generosity and statesmanship, India may win more friends in Nepal and in SAARC, which would set the platform for a deeper relationship with Asia, which is yet to find its independent political voice, despite doing so remarkably well in the economic domain.
Published - August 02, 2014 12:44 am IST
