Kathmandu, April 7

Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar admitted that challenges persisted in India’s relations with Nepal, blaming Nepal’s domestic politics for the same.

“In Nepal and Maldives, there have been challenges that arose from their domestic politics,” Jaishankar said. “But even here, patience and perseverance are making their impact.”

Indian foreign secretary was referring to New Delhi’s engagement with neighbouring countries during a policy speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The Nepal-India relations started deteriorating after New Delhi refrained from welcoming Nepal’s new constitution in September 2015.

The subsequent border blockade imposed by the Tarai-based political parties further soured the bilateral ties, with Kathmandu blaming New Delhi for the blockade.

The blockade that lasted for more than four months was removed in early February a couple of weeks before Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s state-visit to the southern neighbour.

Following his six-day India visit, PM Oli had claimed that misunderstanding with India about the new constitution was over. Nevertheless, misunderstanding resurfaced after a recent European Union-India joint statement made a reference to Nepal, urging all concerned to resolve the contentious constitutional issues in a time-bound manner.

Jaishankar said New Delhi was devoting “unprecedented” attention to its neighbours today, as was apparent by the frequency of interactions at every level, and the same was yielding results.

India’s ties with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are far more cordial, he added.