CESIF organizes National Seminar on “Reflecting on BRI: Experiences and Lessons from South Asia”

Center for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF) organized a National Seminar on “Reflecting on BRI: Experiences and Lessons from South Asia”. The seminar aimed to navigate the opportunities and challenges of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with experiences from regional neighbors who have implemented the projects under BRI. The seminar was held at a critical time of accelerated Chinese push for the BRI implementation plan agreement with Nepal.

Welcoming the participants, Executive Chairperson of CESIF Amb. Vijay Kant Karna raised concerns about the rationale and significance of the BRI Implementation Plan Agreement instead of negotiating projects on an individual basis. “The negotiation should be on an individual project basis; a single financing and implementation modality may not fit different nature of projects”, he said, reads a statement issued by CESIF.

Delivering the keynote speech, former Minister for Finance, Prakash Sharan Mahat stressed that Nepal should have the same approach to financial support from all sources because where the support comes from does not matter so much, as long as it serves the country’s national interest. “In the context where we struggle to utilize the low-interest multilateral loans from the World Bank and ADB, we should critically examine, compare, and question the terms and conditions of bilateral loans that have market rate and short-term repayment periods,” he said.

Mahat also pointed out the lack of homework on Nepal’s part when it comes to either bilateral or multilateral negotiations; only later do we engage in debates and discussions.

Another keynote speaker Raj Kishor Yadav, Chairman of the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the Parliament, stressed the need for wider discussion on BRI in the Parliament, urging the government to release the BRI MoU signed with China in 2017, according to the statement.

He further mentioned that the government should clarify the current status of negotiation on BRI and should not opt for any commercial loans. “Our negotiation with China should focus on grants and concessional loans with interest rates at par with other multilateral financial institutions and should not have any strings attached”, he stated.

Following the speeches, the speakers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India presented the experiences and perceptions of individual countries on BRI. Elaborating on Nepal’s experience with BRI, senior journalist Anil Giri stressed the lack of understanding about BRI among policymakers, politicians, and the public alike. He pointed to forging a national consensus on the negotiation bottom line to move forward with BRI, particularly due to some ambiguous conditions in the MoU such as policy exchange and financial integration.

Talal Rafi, Economist and Fellow at Oxford Global Society, Sri Lanka, pointed out several issues on BRI projects in Sri Lanka while highlighting some positive aspects. Although International Sovereign Bank (ISB) debt ranks above the Chinese bilateral debt, Sri Lanka’s experience with BRI shows a lack of transparency, ad-hoc planning, selection of projects without viability assessment, lack of technological spillover, and environmental concerns. “The slow pace debt negotiation with China is delaying the economic recovery process”, he mentioned.

Mostakim Bin Motaher, Associate Professor at Jahangirnagar University of Bangladesh, highlighted that China’s presence in Bangladesh’s infrastructure has surged quite significantly in recent years, with deep trade and investment ties. Some of the common features of the projects financed by China are escalation of cost, non-transparent or absent bidding procedures, and delays in execution, the statement further reads.

Constantino Xavier’s presentation cited three reasons behind India’s decision to stay out of the BRI: the China-driven and led unilateral nature of the initiative, Chinese economic and strategic interests behind the Initiative unfavorable for India, and the concern about its capacity to absorb capital. He also highlighted how this decision has affected India’s relations with its neighbors, whereby India reinvented its delivery system. “Nepal needs to rely on itself and develop its capacity,” he stressed.

Following the country-specific presentations, the seminar hosted two panel discussions. The first panel discussion brought together Nepali experts to probe into current developments and Nepal’s concerns on BRI negotiation.

The panel hosted Amb. Madhu Raman Acharya, Rameshore Khanal, Akhilesh Upadhyay, and Amish Mulmi.

It was moderated by Amb. Vijaya Kant Karna. Key points in the discussion included the need for clarity on project implementation modalities, concerns about oversight, transparency, and environmental viability, as well as evolving narratives surrounding BRI's focus and China's interests in Nepal's development. The discussion underscored the necessity for transparent discourse and strategic negotiation to navigate Nepal's engagement with the BRI effectively.

Citing the example of Pokhara International, Amb. Acharya reiterated that China has been “shifting the goalpost” regarding BRI and emphasized that Nepal should have its own “objective assessment of each project,” as China has its strategic and economic interests in BRI.

The second panel discussion hosted delegates from countries across South Asia to discuss experiences and lessons for Nepal from their BRI journey. The session was moderated by Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, Research Director at CESIF.

Wrapping up the event, in his closing remarks, Arpan Gelal, Research and Program Coordinator at CESIF, summarized the key issues raised and the consensus reached on the seminar. “Nepal needs wider stakeholder consultation and debate to set Nepal’s negotiation priorities to ensure implementation of BRI that best serves Nepal’s interests”, he said.

More than 100 participants including policymakers, politicians, national and international experts, analysts, academics, diplomats, bureaucrats, and journalists attended the event.