National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

Neighbor Comes Calling

The first visit by new Indian foreign minister fosters relations and raises hopes

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Coming at a time when Nepal was in the throes of severe political and security crisis, a visit by External Affairs Minister of its powerful neighbor had naturally assumed the significance it deserved.

As soon as the new government assumed office in New Delhi under the leadership of renowned economist and reformer Dr. Manmohan Singh, his government pronounced that the new government would work to strengthen relations with its neighbors.

Because of Maoist insurgency, Nepal – the closest neighbor - has remained in trouble for a long time. Naturally, no sooner had the veteran diplomat Kunwar Natwar Singh taken up the reins of South Block, he summoned envoy Shyam Saran to New Delhi to brief him about the situation here.

Furthermore, he got himself invited to Kathmandu even though there was only a lame duck Prime Minister in Nepal. A new government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba was in place when his visit actually took place.

The short-but-significant visit by Singh (June 4-5) marked the resumption of high-level exchanges, among others. During the last six years tenure of BJP led National Democratic Alliance, no head of the government had visited Nepal.

“It is no coincidence that Nepal is the first country I am visiting after assuming office as India’s External Affairs Minister. It reflects the importance we attach to Nepal and our desire to consolidate and further develop our already wide-ranging ties with Nepal,” Singh said.

Singh’s brief stopover was packed with meetings with various leaders. Apart from meeting King Gyanendra, Singh also called on the Prime Minister Deuba, Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala, outgoing Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Along with meeting political leaders and government officials, Indian foreign minister also met chief of Royal Nepalese Army and discussed bilateral defence issues.

“Nepal and India have discussed on different bilateral matters including the Maoist problem,” said Madhu Raman Acharya, foreign secretary.

At a time when several quarters in India are advocating for a proactive policy in the neighborhood, Singh’s meeting with Nepalese leaders must have been quite significant. The arrests of 11 Maoist leaders in Patna just two days before Singh’s visit must have set the stage for India to voice its concerns.

India has been trying to get Nepal sign a new Extradition Treaty with the provision that requires Nepal also to extradite third-country nationals. Informed quarters claim that Singh utilized this visit to further stress on the need to have this treaty signed.

“Nepal is one of our closest neighbours and friend. In the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance, the first priority of our foreign policy is further improving and strengthening our relations with our neighbours,” Singh said giving one indication that India might not remain a silent spectator in the troubled neighborhood.

“In Nepal, development diplomacy is India’s forte right now, halfway between overt involvement and its old hands-off policy,” writes India Today – an influential weekly magazine – in one of its article in its June 7 issue. The article points out three-point advice (to improve Nepal situation) – ensuring elections by 2005, limiting Maoist influence by aiding development in outlying districts as well as training the Royal Nepalese Army, and working with the political parties to ensure a coherent strategy.

There is no doubt that India has the maximum interest in Nepal’s stability and security with so much of interconnection among the peoples. The manner in which the violence has been escalating in Nepal in the last couple of years is sure to have one or the other kind of impact in future on India. Sooner Nepal returns to normalcy, better for the two countries and South Asian region as a whole.

As such, the sense of urgency with which Singh dashed off to Kathmandu should be seen in a positive light. Like he said, “It is the policy of the Government led by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to continue the tradition of exchanging regular high-level visits with Nepal and extend to the friendly people of Nepal, India’s full support in their endeavour to overcome the challenges confronting the country,” Singh must also have felt the void in the high-level exchanges between the two neighbors, of late.

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee did not even come to Kathmandu once during his tenure on a bilateral visit. He only came here to attend SAARC Summit in 2002. Hopefully, the invitation given by King Gyanendra to new Indian Prime Minister, Indian President and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will be accepted.

The high-level exchanges are necessary not only as official rituals, but also to overcome misunderstandings and nurture relationship for mutual benefit.