Prime Minister Modi visiting Nepal

New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach Nepal on Monday. Ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister said that India-Nepal relations are incomparable with relations of any other country. It isn’t easy to second example the communication and connection of people between both countries. The bilateral relations have also stood the test of time. Some analysts claim that India has successfully increased its influence and reduced China’s dominance over Nepal. Analysts in Pakistan have expressed similar views ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Nepal.

Marking the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the Maya Devi temple in Lumbini, Nepal. Prime Minister Modi will also attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of India’s Heritage Centre being set up in Nepal. During the visit, Modi will hold bilateral talks with Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Other South Asian countries keenly watch this bilateral discussion. Sher Bahadur Devba visited India in April. It is claimed that the issues discussed in April will be taken forward in the current discussions with Prime Minister Modi. Prime Minister Modi is particularly keen on hydropower projects and connectivity between the two countries.

Agreements to enhance cooperation related to culture and education are expected to be signed between India and Nepal during the visit of Prime Minister Modi. The previous government of KP Sharma Oli in Nepal had given special importance to relations with China. The shift in policy of aligning with China was against the national interests of Nepal, for which Nepal had to pay heavily. China illegally occupied a part of Nepal’s land, taking advantage of the situation. China also tried hard to engulf Nepal in its debt trap.

KP Sharma Oli’s government moved away from Nepal’s traditional bilateral policy of friendship and cooperation with India. Not only that, but Sharma’s government also tried to create tensions between the two countries by sparking a border dispute with India. He was accused of doing all this on behalf of China’s influence. The people of Nepal were deeply dissatisfied with this. After a fierce battle between the Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley, a Chinese government mouthpiece had threatened to use Pakistan and Nepal to confront India on three fronts at once. KP Sharma Oli’s government had backed China’s anti-India tactics at the time. Therefore, after the fall of his government, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who came to power, took steps to re-establish relations with India.

This seems to have ended China’s dominance over Nepal. At the same time, there are indications that Pakistan, along with China, is upset over the resumption of India’s traditional cooperation with Nepal. Speaking on Pakistani news channels, some analysts claimed that India had successfully re-established its influence in Nepal. Not only that, but in the future, India will not allow China to get a foothold in Nepal, said the Pakistani analysts. A similar situation has arisen in Sri Lanka as well. However, as per Pakistani analysts, India has successfully regained its influence in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

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