New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated new Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on his assuming office and “expressed hope to work closely to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship and expand the mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Nepal”, New Delhi said. PM Modi in a post on X wrote, “Congratulations @kpsharmaoli on your appointment as the Prime Minister of Nepal. Look forward to working closely to further strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between our two countries and to further expand our mutually beneficial cooperation for the progress and prosperity of our peoples. @PM_nepal.”
While Mr. Oli, leader of the (Communist) CPN-UML party, has a distinct pro-China image, he is now in a coalition with the Nepali Congress which has always had good ties with New Delhi. The two large parties joined hands to unseat Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre), from the post of PM. But with Mr. Oli now in charge, New Delhi will be watching Kathmandu’s policies closely, even as Beijing looks set to further expand its influence in the Himalayan nation. When Mr. Oli was prime minister in 2020, ties between India and Nepal had become strained after Nepal had then gone ahead and unveiled a new map that showed that showed portions of territory in India’s Uttarakhand State---Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh--as part of Nepal. New Delhi had objected to that move.
But much water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since then especially after Mr. Oli lost power. The two nations had subsequently reached a “general understanding” that they need to address the pending border dispute between them in a “responsible manner” through dialogue and that “politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided”. The Communist parties in Nepal---that form a major part of the polity of the Himalayan nation---have also enjoyed close ideological ties with their Chinese counterpart, something that has benefitted Beijing enormously even as an anxious New Delhi has watched closely over the years.
India has however focused on development assistance to the Himalayan neighbour and to further deepen the power sector cooperation through new initiatives across the entire spectrum of cooperation.
On the infrastructure front, India has been pursuing several large infrastructure projects in Nepal such as the Arun III hydropower project, Gorakhpur-Butwal 400 kV cross border line, ICP in Nepalgunj- Rupaidiha and at Bhairahawa-Sunauli, and Railway projects Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas, Jogbani-Biratnagar rail link. These projects build on the previous successful projects such as the ICPs in Biratnagar and Birgunj as well as the Motihari-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Pipeline (first cross-border petroleum product pipeline in South Asia). Strengthening the financial connectivity between two countries is also another move for closer ties, after the RuPay card was launched in Nepal two years ago.
