Nepal will strengthen relations with India, new PM Sher Bahadur Deuba assures

Kathmandu: – Nepal’s new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has announced that India-Nepal relations will be strengthened further. After becoming the Prime Minister, Deuba was congratulated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Thanking for this, the Prime Minister of Nepal has indicated that Nepal will give the highest priority to its relations with India. During the tenure of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Nepal distanced itself from India and fell into the Chinese trap. Therefore, it is strategically important for the new Prime Minister to underline the importance of Nepal-India relations.

Deuba announced, ‘We will work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen India-Nepal relations further’. While congratulating Deuba, Prime Minister Modi had expressed confidence that India-Nepal cooperation would be made more comprehensive. Meanwhile, Chinese influence in Nepal has grown exponentially over the past few years. Former Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli had adopted aggressive policies as if India was an enemy of Nepal. Sharma Oli had forged closer ties with China by giving unrealistic importance to border disputes with India. China took advantage of this opportunity to tighten its grip on Nepal.

Democratic leaders in Nepal were upset by growing Chinese dominance. Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, a pro-Chinese leader, saw the growing Chinese dominance over Nepal as a threat. After clashes erupted between India and China over the Ladakh LAC last year, China had used Nepal, including Pakistan, to threaten India on three sides. At the same time, the Nepalese military stepped up operations along the Indian border and it is alleged that KP Sharma Oli perpetrated this at the behest of China. However, the KP Sharma Oli-led government was destabilized by such irresponsible policies and some parties withdrew their support to the government.

Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister following a political crisis. Prime Minister Deuba is posed with a challenge to restore political stability in Nepal. Deuba seems to have reached the first stage on this front by proving his majority in the Parliament of Nepal. But in the future, Deuba will have to face the challenge of reviving Nepal’s economy, reducing the Chinese dominance, and fighting the Coronavirus outbreak. The Government of Nepal expects cooperation from India for this. This seems to reflect in the message sent by Prime Minister Deuba to the Indian Prime Minister.