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India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar is arriving on Thursday for a two-day official visit to Nepal. The main objective of his visit is co-chairing the 7th meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission, the highest body mandated to review the entire issues concerning bilateral partnership and direct the concerned authorities to remove the bottlenecks, if any.

Though established in 1987, the commission remained largely inactive till 2014. It resumed the work thereafter, albeit irregularly. Foreign ministers of the two countries co-chair this mechanism. The commission is set to review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of mutual cooperation between Nepal and India, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Jaishankar will also meet President Ram Chandra Poudel, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other prominent political leaders during his stay. Regarding the visit, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said that Nepal is a priority partner of India under its Neighborhood First Policy and that the visit is in keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between two close and friendly neighbors.

The commission meeting is expected to be instrumental in further enhancing the economic and development partnership between the two countries. 

The Indian external affairs minister visiting Nepal also holds political and diplomatic significance. Though India still has a deep influence in Nepal’s internal politics, over the past few years, it has been maintaining a low-profile regarding Nepal’s internal political situation. As the Dahal-led government—backed by India—is becoming unpopular and there are strong voices inside the Nepali Congress for a change in government, Jaishankar will also try to read the pulse of Nepali politics during his sojourn. Prime Minister Dahal wants the continuation of New Delhi support to keep the current coalition intact.

Jaishankar is arriving on the heels of a flurry of visits mainly from the US and China.  In 2023, there was a series of visits to Nepal by high-level US officials and the representatives of Communist Party of China. Compared to the US and China, visits from and to New Delhi were few. The Narendra Modi government naturally has geopolitical and strategic concerns, given the interests shown to Nepal by Washington and Beijing of late.

New Delhi is wary of growing Chinese influence in Nepal and is closely watching Kathmandu’s relationship with Beijing. It is also concerned over the Kathmandu-Washington ties, even though India and the US share similar interests with Nepal, particularly countering China’s influence.  

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its sister organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, also have a special interest in Nepal at a time when some political parties and groups are campaigning for the reinstatement of Hindu state.

Development and economic partnership between Nepal and India is gaining momentum after Dahal’s ascension to power. During Dahal’s India visit in May last year, there was notable progress between Nepal and India on energy cooperation. India has agreed to purchase Nepal’s electricity and also allow import to Bangladesh via India. Several connectivity projects between the two countries, including Raxaul-Kathmandu railway, also made significant strides.  

Former Ambassador and political analyst Bijaya Kanta Karna says Jainshankar’s visit should be taken as a continuation of Prime Minister Dahal’s India visit.

During his India trip, Dahal focused on building trust at the top political level and focusing on economic partnership while keeping the key contentious issues at bay.

 Karna said The energy cooperation in particular has given the message to the international investors that there is an appropriate environment for the investment in Nepal. He added that the visit by the Indian external affairs minister will reinforce the development and economic partnership between the two countries.  

The former Indian ambassador to Nepal said that the key purpose of Jaishankar’s visit is to review the bilateral relationship and, in particular, to strengthen mutually beneficial economic partnership.

The previous six meetings of the commission were held in New Delhi last year. These meetings discussed boundary and border management, connectivity and economic cooperation, trade and transit, power and water resources, and culture and education, among other issues. 

In the last few years, Nepal and India signed around 25 MOUs and agreements in various sectors of bilateral cooperation, including transit, petroleum, capacity building, railways, border infrastructure, education and electricity.

Key issues 

• Long-term power trade 
• Trilateral power agreement 
• Transmission lines 
• Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project 
• Trade and investment 
• Extension of MotihariAmlekhgunj petroleum pipeline in Chitwan and Siliguri 
• Cooperation in the agriculture 
• Boundary
• Air entry point  
•  Problem of flood and inundation
• Small-grant development projects 

Minister of External Affairs of India S Jaishankar is arriving in Nepal tomorrow for a two-day visit at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud.

According to Amrit Bahadur Rai, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is arriving in Nepal to participate in the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission.

Nepal-India Joint Commission was established in 1987. Both countries will review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of mutual cooperation at the ministerial level during the meeting.

During his visit, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will pay courtesy calls on President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Saud will also host a dinner in honor of the visiting dignitary and members of his delegation.

Nepal is India's primary partner under its 'Neighborhood First' Policy.

The impending meeting is going to take place in consideration of the tradition of high-level exchange of meetings between the two close and friendly neighbors.

A meeting of the Judicial Service Commission today decided to recommend Devendra Dhakal as the chief registrar of the Supreme Court (SC).

The meeting chaired by Chief Justice Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha recommended Dhakal who presently serves as the secretary of Judicial Council for the appointment to the post of SC chief registrar.

Similarly, Bimal Paudel has been recommended for the appointment as the SC registrar.

The posts are lying vacant since Lal Bahadur Kunwar who was the SC chief registrar and Nirmala Paudel who was the registrar were appointed as the High Court judges.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the death of three more Nepali men in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. They have been identified as Hari Prasad Aryal of Syangja, Bhar Bahadur Shah of Kailali and Rajkumar Giri of Dhading. Earlier, the government had confirmed the deaths of seven Nepali nationals. 

There is a widespread concern that there could be many more Nepali casualties that have gone unreported. A few weeks back, the government had said that at least 100 Nepalis were missing and scores of others were injured. 

The Nepal government has urged Moscow to urgently provide information about the number of Nepalis serving in the Russian army, stop recruitment of Nepali nationals and facilitate the repatriation of Nepalis killed in the war. A growing number of people have been visiting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs these days, with a request to locate their missing loved ones in Russia. 

So far, Russia has not responded to Nepal’s concern. The Nepal government is partly responsible for this situation. Soon after the war broke out in 2022, the Nepal government didn’t issue any advisory for those planning to visit Russia or Ukraine. Even when news broke out about Nepali nationals fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, the government showed no urgency to inquire the respective embassies of Russia and Ukraine about the matter. 

The government was compelled to act only after reports about Nepalis dying in the war started emerging through friends, families and social media. Various national and international media also covered these incidents. Soon after, police busted a ring involved in sending Nepalis to Russia on visit visas to fight the war with Ukraine.  

Now, the government is grappling to ascertain the actual number of Nepalis serving in the Russian army and their current status. Recently, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said there could be approximately 200 Nepalis serving in the Russian army, yet officials hint at a possibly higher figure. Compounding the issue is the situation of Nepali hostages held by the Ukrainian army. Bibek Khatri, Siddhartha Dhakal, Bikas Rai and Pratik Pun are among those captured by the Ukrainian army. The talks for their release have hit an impasse. 

The government is now on a frantic mission, attempting to discern the status of its citizens fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, exacerbated by the lack of cooperation from Moscow. This has prompted a tightening of visit visa rules, with a mandatory No Objection Letter (NoC) for travel to Russia and other transit countries. Shockingly, certain manpower agencies, according to some media reports, persist in training Nepali nationals for enlistment in the Russian army.

Though Moscow says foreigners cannot be allowed to join the Russian army, President Vladamir Putin in 2022 signed a decree making it easier for foreigners to obtain Russian citizenship if they join the army. As reported by the Moscow Times, the decree said: “Foreign citizens or stateless persons who sign a contract to serve in the Russian Armed force… for at least one year and take part in military operations for at least six months, will be eligible for the simplified application procedures.”  

Recently, Putin ordered the country’s military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million. According to the Associated Press, Putin’s decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.

Beyond Nepal, Russia's recruitment of foreign nationals, including those from Cambodia and Cuba, adds a global dimension to the conflict. Reports indicate Moscow's pursuit of formal labor contracts with other nations, underscoring the far-reaching consequences of this recruitment strategy.

Foreign policy experts emphasize the need for high-level communication between Kathmandu and Moscow to resolve Nepal's concerns. As Nepal's Ambassador to Moscow Milan Tuladhar engages in talks, a former foreign minister stresses the need for political leadership to step in. If needed, they say, Nepal should ask big countries such as India, the US, and China to talk with Moscow and Kyiv about Nepal’s concerns.