Both Kathmandu and New Delhi seem keen on normalizing the relationship that was strained after India in 2019 issued a new political map incorporating territories that belong to Nepal.
In recent months, there have been frequent high-level engagements and visits between Nepal and India. These bilateral dealings have largely revolved on economic partnership, connectivity, and hydropower projects. But issues of contention, including the map row and the report of the Eminent Persons Group, didn’t figure in these talks.
New Delhi’s renewed engagement with Kathmandu comes on the heels of growing interest shown by Washington and Beijing in Kathmandu. India, uncharacteristically, has refrained from taking positions on internal affairs of Nepal, and instead focused on completing development projects. A soft-power diplomacy to counter China perhaps.
Ranjit Rae, former Indian ambassador to Nepal, says recent high-level visits demonstrate the significance of partnership between the two countries.
“There were a lot of ups and downs in bilateral relations, and some problems of the past have not been resolved,” he says. “It seems there is a strong commitment to economic partnership and there is a new momentum in energy cooperation too.”
During his India visit on April 1-3, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba did try to raise the boundary row, but his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi seemed uninterested.
When Modi visited Lumbini on May 16, thorny issues between Nepal and India were left undiscussed.
Geja Sharma Wagle, a foreign policy expert, says recent Nepal-India bilateral engagements have left a lot to be desired.
“Modi’s Lumbini visit seems to have been driven by his desire to improve the relationship, and for that he has used religious and cultural planks,” he says.
But it is also hard to expect genuine cordiality in Nepal-India relations without resolving outstanding issues.
Wagle says along with taking maximum benefit from the economic partnership, Nepal should adopt proactive diplomacy to resolve long-standing issues.
Rae also says talks to resolve outstanding problems are important. The map issue, he says, has become complex after Nepal amended its constitution to incorporate the new map.
“Some talks have to begin but there is also no guarantee that Nepal’s political parties and parliament will accept the outcome of these negotiations,” he says.
The existing mechanism for boundary talks is represented by foreign secretary. Experts are of the view that bureaucrats can't handle such sensitive issues and that there should be negotiation at the top political level.
On the EPG, Rae says first there should be negotiations on the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty. “Once these talks start, EPG will no longer be a big issue,” he says.
