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Hours after holding a meeting with CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh reached Baluwatar on Friday afternoon to meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. During the meeting, leader Singh told Deuba that Dahal will not budge from his stance of becoming the prime minister easily. According to a Baluwatar source, Prime Minister Deuba said that he would hold a serious discussion with the leaders of the ruling coalition on the issue soon. It has been understood that Dahal wants to become the prime minister with the support of the ruling coalition as much as possible or else he is preparing to lead the government with the help of the CPN-UML and some fringe parties. Dahal has been holding consultations with Prime Minister Deuba and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli parallelly to become the prime minister. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Deuba, Dahal and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Nepal discussed possible power sharing. President Bidya Devi Bhandari has called upon the political parties to form a new government by December 25.

CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and acting Chinese ambassador to Nepal Wang Xin held a meeting at the former’s residence in Khumaltar on Friday. The meeting with a high-ranking official of the Chinese Embassy has been taken meaningfully at a time when Dahal has been expressing his reluctance to leave the post of prime minister. The acting Chinese ambassador expressed his concern over the role of the Maoist Center in the possible power sharing and government formation. In response, Dahal said that he has been working to form a new government under his leadership and he has been holding consultations with the senior leaders of the Nepali Congress for the same. Earlier this week, Wang Xin held a meeting with Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden. On the occasion, he discussed a possible scenario of power sharing with Lingden. New Chinese ambassador to Nepal Cheng Song will arrive in Nepal on December 27.

A fierce dispute has erupted between the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Center) on who will become the prime minister in the first phase. The Congress leaders have been trying to convince Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal after he expressed his reluctance to leave the prime minister in the first phase. NC leader Prakash Man Singh reached Khumaltar on Friday to hold a discussion with Dahal on the same issue. It has been learnt that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba sent Singh to Khumaltar to discuss with Dahal on his side. Deuba has been trying to persuade Dahal through various ways but Dahal is adamant on his stance of not quitting the post. During the meeting held this morning, Singh told Dahal that Deuba should be made the prime minister in the first phase. Congress leader Singh had said that they would share other posts in consensus after making Deuba the prime minister. But, Dahal said that national and international agencies are on his side and decided not to leave his stand of being the prime minister in the first phase. “You are all aware that we are also having discussions with the CPN-UML. Deubaji is still the prime minister. I will be the prime minister now and Deuba will become the prime minister after two years,” a leader said, quoting Dahal. During the meeting with Singh, Dahal warned that a crisis could emerge in the coalition if he did not become the prime minister in the first phase from the ruling alliance.

The US has been expanding its economic footprint in the Indo-Pacific region. In May, it launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) bringing 12 countries (40 percent of the world’s GDP) on board. The IPEF focuses on four key pillars: trade, supply chains, clean energy, and fair economy. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is at the forefront of implementing this framework, which is said to be the economic leg of the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS). Across the region, the US development agency has been implementing trade and competitiveness (T&C) programs. A report prepared by the agency in 2021 states that it is a whole-of-government program designed to incentivize greater business engagement in the Indo-Pacific region by enhancing trade facilitation, improving market-based trade and competitiveness laws and policies, and increasing private sector participation. The overall goal of T&C is to increase inclusive and broad-based sustained free and fair trade as well as competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. In September this year, USAID launched a T & C project, the first of its kind, in Nepal. USAID and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies jointly launched the project. The ministry, however, has said it will only play the role of an advisor to the program, while stressing that it is not an implementation partner. “We cannot become a part of it but can facilitate the implementation of the project,” a senior ministry official told ApEx. He was apparently unaware of the fact that the project fell under the broader framework of IPS. Foreign policy expert Rupak Sapkota said great powers are implementing the projects of their strategic importance in an opaque manner. “In order to avoid potential backlash, they are pushing such strategies in the guise of economic benefit, development and job creation,” he added. According to Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based expert on Indo-Pacific affairs, the US initiative is crucial at least in theory, as there is a large infrastructure development gap in the region and the notoriety of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “China’s disregard for international macroeconomic stability by funding unsustainable projects for countries with low or non-existing credit ratings eventually burdens them by pulling these countries deeper into debt burdens,” he told ApEx. “The potential alternatives provided by the US and its allies are a welcoming development.” This is not the first time the US or the West has pushed for a “game changing” alternative to China’s BRI. Such projects didn’t take off due to domestic constraints, which led to the inability of the US and its allies to provide the needed funds. Ultimately, said Gill, the US and its allies must come up with a more comprehensive and practical strategy that leverages on their strengths and expertise for the benefit of the developing world. “Presenting new initiatives year after year that are not fully funded, well-implemented, and quickly replaced may further tarnish the legitimacy and credibility of the West to provide robust platforms for growth amid China’s growing global ambitions,” he added. Since the launch of IPEF, the US has been briefing other South Asian countries, but no formal discussion has been held with Nepal. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul said on Thursday that his country is looking into the pros and cons of the framework in order to decide whether it is beneficial to the country. IPEF is regarded as a counterweight against Chinese influence in the region. Last week, trade and economic ministers of all members of IPEF met to discuss economic issues including the digital economy. Though Nepal is not an official IPEF partner, observers say economic activities under the IPS are already taking place.