Nepal and India must sort out their differences on key issues to enhance their historic ties
FEBRUARY 14
The joint Foreign Secretary-level meeting between Nepal and India concluded on Monday with Nepal's Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal requesting his Indian counterpart, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, to provide new air routes for the smooth operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) and Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), both of which came into operation following their calibration flights.
The first international flight from the GBIA was conducted on May 16, marking Buddha Jayanti. It has been nine months since the GBIA was opened for international flights.
Now, international flights from the newly-built airport have been suspended due to foggy weather as India has not given permission to use the Instrumental Landing System (ILS), which also covers some parts of Indian territory.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Paudyal reiterated Nepal's request for additional air-entry routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj as well as early concurrence of the near border flight operation of the GBIA.
During a courtesy calls on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Foreign Minister Bimala Paudyal Rai, Kwatra was also requested to provide new air routes for the GBIA and PRIA.
Kwatra is learned to have said nothing about providing new air routes to both the airports. Earlier, Indian PM Narendra Modi had promised to provide new air-routes to Nepal when he paid a visit to Nepal last time.
Another important issue both the foreign secretaries discussed during the meeting was related to boundary issue. In this regard, they exchanged views on completing the boundary works in the "remaining segments" through the established bilateral mechanism.
Remaining segments means the boundary issue, including the Limpiyadhura, Lipulek, Kalapani region as well as Susta region of Nawalparasi district. But the statements issued both by MoFA and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu mentioned nothing about what actually transpired during the meeting. Relations between the two countries have been frosty after India published an administrative map incorporating the Kalapani region in its territory in 2020, which has always been an integral part of Nepal since the Sugauli Treaty was reached in 1816 with then British India.
Nepal also published its own map incorporating the Kalapani region seven months after India published its map.
MoFA said the two foreign secretaries reviewed various aspects of Nepal-India relations covering connectivity, trade and transit, power sector cooperation, agriculture, education, culture, the health sector and people-to-people relations. During the meeting, Nepal requested India to allow the export of power from Nepal on a long-term basis utilising all power plants in the power exchange market. Till date, India has been buying Nepal's energy from select power plants, that too, at 96 segments on 15-minute basis, which is a cumbersome process. Nepal's energy export to India should be simplified and cross-border transmission lines upgraded to enhance better connectivity in the energy sector. Nepal and India enjoy historical ties since time immemorial.
But some of the thorny issues, such as the border dispute and connectivity by air, land and energy as well as trade, have always remained unresolved.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 15, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
