Significance of Jaishankar’s visit

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