NEW DELHI: A hop, skip and a jump would almost describe Prime Minister Modi’s helicopter flight from Kusinagar in Uttar Pradesh to a helipad in Lumbini Park, across the border in Nepal. At a day-long event combining elements of faith, politics and diplomacy, Modi will, along with his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, lay the foundation stone of a Buddhist vihara to be built with Indian funding.
Delhi is a latecomer to this game since Lumbini Park, home to some of the most sacred sites associated with the Buddha, is dotted with monasteries and other structures built by various countries, including China. Curiously, no Indian prime minister before Modi is known to have visited Lumbini. For that matter, Manmohan Singh never visited Nepal during his decade in office.
For Modi, this is his fifth visit to Nepal and although Kathmandu is not on the flight plan, Deuba’s presence in Lumbini to mark Buddha Jayanti, underscores that the broader contours of the relationship will be touched upon even amid celebrations of the Buddha and his work.
But well before Modi’s visit, the Nepali media was complaining that he not landing at the newly built Bhairawaha Airport, 18 km from Lumbini Park, which Deuba inaugurated on Sunday, was a failure on the government’s part. The Kathmandu Post carried this comment from an unnamed government official: “If Modi would land at the new airport and travel to Lumbini greeting the people, that would send a very positive message to both sides.”
Another official was quoted as saying: “It’s a weakness on Nepal’s side. Nepal’s diplomacy, either economic or aviation, has always remained poor. We failed again.”
The paper reported that India’s decision to fly Modi directly to Lumbini was because Bhairawaha airport has been built by a Chinese company, and a Chinese delegation would also be present at the airport on Sunday. There was no comment from the Indian side.
But there is a deeper Nepali grouse. A communique dating back to August 2014 during Modi’s visit to Kathmandu committed the two sides to new cross-border air routes that would facilitate flights from Pokhara, Bhairawaha and Nepalgunj. India has apparently not moved further citing issues over allowing civilian flights from Bhairawaha over the Gorakhpur air base. Presumably, there will be views exchanged on this when Deuba and Modi meet.
On the positive side, Nepal is showing a refreshing new face on the issue of hydropower projects. For a long time, Kathmandu opposed Indian proposals for such projects on rivers originating from there. Now, they want India to finance and build such projects with Deuba expected to push the case of the West Seti reservoir type hydel project in western Nepal, with the potential to generate 750 MW.
At a public rally near his home town of Dadeldhura, Deuba was reported as saying that “We failed to invest in this project, so during the visit of Prime Minister Modi we will take up the matter with him.” Significantly, he added: “Since India is reluctant to purchase energy produced by Chinese companies in Nepal, we will talk with Modi for the engagement of Indian developers.”
Deuba has also indicated he is keen on India getting involved in the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Power Project, and to overcome Indian objections to Nepal buying Chinese systems and components for power projects, an understanding could be worked out. Given that Nepal’s hydropower potential is estimated at 80,000 MW, there’s a lot of ground to cover.
India’s foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra put it in a nutshell at a briefing in Delhi, saying: “Whether it is development partnership, whether it is assessment and stock taking of how connectivity projects are doing, what more can be done to connect the two societies … and also aspects related to hydropower cooperation, trade and investment.”
There is also the sticky issue of Nepal’s claims to Indian territory in Kalapani. While India has said there are bilateral mechanisms to address them, Kathmandu’s tendency for public breast beating and accusing India of perfidy don’t help the relationship. There’s little doubt however that Nepal under Deuba has shown a more cooperative face, ties are showing an upward trajectory and while China remains an irritant, there’s enough scope for moving forward together.
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