by Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, May 28, 2023
Leading a delegation of four dozen ministers, government officials and journalists, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will visit India from May 31 to June 3. Kathmandu and New Delhi on Saturday officially announced the visit, which is Dahal’s first official outing since assuming office in December last year.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal said Dahal would be leaving for India on May 31, at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Dahal will embark on the trip along with his daughter, Ganga Dahal, and various dignitaries and high-ranking officers.
“The prime minister’s entourage will comprise ministers, secretaries, and senior officials of the Government of Nepal,” the statement said.
A slew of agreements, memoranda of understanding and ground-breaking ceremonies are lined up following delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Dahal and his Indian counterpart on June 1 in New Delhi.
There were some contentious issues that Nepal and India put on the table during delegation-level talks and all eyes will be on how Dahal and Modi will resolve them. As always, India could bring up security concerns and issues related to delays in implementation of India-funded projects in Nepal.
There are calls from some political sections that Dahal should take up issues like the boundary dispute with India, particularly New Delhi’s control of the Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura areas of Nepal, receiving the report of Eminent Persons’ Group on Nepal-India relations, plus air entry points through the L626 Mahendranagar route and Nepalgunj to facilitate aircraft movement to two newly-built international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.
The main purpose of the visit is to build trust between Nepal and India which sank to a low in the past, prime minister’s chief political adviser Haribol Gajurel told the Post. He does not expect much in terms of boundary dispute resolution, as it could be a time-consuming process.
Some deals on economic cooperation between the two countries including long-term energy export to India and Bangladesh will be agreed upon during the visit. “Such deals would ease our import burden,” said Gajurel.
“On the boundary front, the solution is a bit complex and time-consuming. There is no reason to overhype the boundary issue. We need to gradually build trust and resolve differences, and only then embark on resolving boundary matters.”
One official from the Ministry of Land Management said there could be an understanding between Nepal and India on holding the meeting of the Boundary Working Group (BWG) that is mandated to clear the no-man’s land, install boundary pillars as per the agreed strip maps, and renovate and maintain old border pillars.
The BWG was constituted by the governments of Nepal and India in 2014 to carry out works in the fields of construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars including clearance of ‘no-man’s land’ and other technical tasks but its meeting has been pending since 2019. “Once we settle other outstanding issues, then we can move towards resolving the boundary dispute,” said Gajurel.
On receiving the EPG report which was prepared in 2018 to provide a blueprint for Nepal-India relations, Gajurel said it was up to the Indian side. Prime Minister Dahal, during a question-answer session in Parliament last week, had said whether the EPG report is received would be known only after he discusses the matter in India. “It is a joint report, so we will listen to what the Indian side says,” he said. An eight-member panel of Nepal and India had prepared the joint report in June 2018, which is yet to be received by the two sides.
There is a possibility of getting a new air route, Dahal told Parliament on Saturday. “Issues related to border and EPG will also be discussed on this visit.”
On the air entry route, Gajurel hinted that Nepal could get a route via Nepalgunj.
Though the recent talks between officials from Nepal and India in New Delhi could not yield results on the air entry route via India, Gajurel is hopeful that India will provide the route via Nepalgunj.
Some agreements and memoranda of understanding will be signed after delegation level talks between Dahal and Modi on June 1, said officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the visit, crucial agreements on cross-border energy cooperation and trade are expected. Agreement on a common digital payment, construction of a dry port in the Chandani-Dodhara area of Nepal, inauguration of the integrated check posts in Nepalgunj and setting up a new integrated check post in Bhairahawa are all parts of a likely agreement, said an official at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Also on the agenda are inauguration of the rail yard in Biratnagar; construction and extension of two petroleum pipelines; allowing the broadcast of Nepal Television in India; energy trading between Nepal and Bangladesh via India; agreement on electricity trading between two state-owned agencies for 25 years so as to avoid frequent approvals.
The construction of Lower Arun and Phukot Karnali by the Indian developers, cross-border transmission line, and chemical fertiliser supply to Nepal are other possible items of bilateral agreements.
Prime Minister Dahal will call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar of India and hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Modi to discuss diverse areas of partnership between the two countries. Other Indian dignitaries will call on Dahal, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in its statement.
Dahal will also address the Nepal-India Business Summit in New Delhi, to be jointly organised by the Federation of Nepali Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the ministry said.
“In addition to the official engagements, Prime Minister Dahal will also be visiting Ujjain and Indore as part of his visit,” the release from the Indian side read.
During his special trip to Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Dahal is scheduled to visit the revered Mahakaleshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, according to some Indian media reports. The temple holds immense significance as one of the 12 jyotirlingas, or sacred abodes, of Lord Shiva, and the prime minister’s visit will underscore the spiritual bond between Nepal and India.
The ‘temple diplomacy’ between Nepal and India is flourishing. In April last year, then-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba worshipped at the famous Kal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath temples in Varanasi during his India visit. In May, 2022, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Lumbini and performed puja at the Mayadevi temple.
This is Dahal’s fourth visit to the southern neighbour in his three terms as the country’s premier.
https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2023/05/28/pm-s-india-visit-some-agreements-soft-pedalling-of-contentious-issues
