THE recently-concluded visit of Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, besides giving a boost to India-Nepal relations, was a perfect example of the success of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
India and Nepal have deep historical and cultural ties and despite some tensions in the recent past, it is one bilateral relationship that has been dear to both nations. It is also, therefore, no surprise that Dahal chose India as his first visit abroad after becoming the PM in December last year.
Himalayan heights
During his four-day visit to India, Dahal held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where both leaders spoke about the significance of the ties. PM Modi, in his remarks after the two sides had held delegation levels talks, said that India and Nepal will strive to take their relationship to Himalayan heights and resolve the boundary issue and all such matters in this spirit.
It is to be noted here that PM Modi has made the Nepal relationship a priority in the last nine years. Nepal is of great strategic interest to India. The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The China factor Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. The China factor is another important element here. Of late, the Chinese have been very active in Nepal and have shown great keenness to invest in the Himalayan kingdom.
It is to the credit of the Indian leadership, especially that of PM Modi, that Nepal continues to share excellent ties with India, and the age old -old ‘Roti-Beti’ relationship which refers to cross-border marriages between people of the two countries, continues to be the hallmark of this relationship.
During the visit of the Nepalese PM, both sides signed seven agreements and launched six projects, including railway services to further enhance bilateral ties. Dahal also said that meeting his counterpart Narendra Modi was the most significant aspect of his four-day visit to India.
Continuing tradition
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, “Nepal is one of the key partners of India’s Neighbourhood First’ policy. The visit of Prime Minister of Nepal to India continues the tradition of high-level visits and exchanges between the two countries, strengthening the age-old ties between the two countries.” The visit also helped assuage any apprehensions that India might have had regarding the direction in which Prachanda would want to take Nepal to.
The power sector, which has become the bedrock of this relationship, saw a milestone being achieved. PM Modi announced the signing of a long-term power trade agreement under which a target of importing 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal has been set.
The successful conclusion of Prachanda’s visit is a feather in the cap for South Block. The visit helped highlight how successfully India has followed in practice what it set forth as a policy – Neighbourhood First.
