World News | Concerns over Belt and Road Initiative lacking momentum in Nepal: Report

Kathmandu [Nepal]May 18 (ANI): There are concerns over the lack of momentum of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Nepal, even six years after the signing of the MoU, the Kathmandu Post reported.

Six years after signing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Nepal, China has no real projects to show. That changed following the inauguration of Pokhara International Airport earlier this year when China announced that it would be built with Chinese aid under the BRI framework, according to news reports.

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Nepal and China signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative, later known as the Belt and Road Initiative. The BRI is the flagship initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the Kathmandu Post, China regards the Belt and Road Initiative as a top foreign policy priority.

In every meeting between Nepal and China, the initiative gets attention. However, after the formation of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government, the Nigerian side did not conduct substantive discussions on the initiative. The aides of the Prime Minister of Nepal did not even realize that the second term of the Belt and Road Initiative has ended and the third term has begun.

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According to the Kathmandu Post, Surya Kiran Sharma, Nepal’s Prime Minister Dahal’s media coordinator, said: “We don’t know about the end of BRI’s tenure and the general discussion on how to take the initiative.”

Surya Kiran Sharma added: “Probably the foreign ministry knew better. I don’t recall any discussion of BRI.”

Although there is no provision as to whether the two countries should communicate to renew the agreement. Officials, however, described diplomacy as the right way to solve the problem. According to Article 5, paragraph 4, of the BRI agreement, the MOU should be automatically renewed every three years unless terminated by one party giving written notice to the other party at least three months before the MOU expires, according to news reports.

Despite the signing of a six-year agreement focusing on policy dialogue on connectivity, trade, development strategies and cooperation in the economic, environmental, technological and cultural fields, Nepal has expressed concern over the lack of momentum of the Belt and Road Initiative, according to news reports.

According to news reports, the agreement also aims to promote transit transport, logistics, transport network security and related infrastructure development through joint research, and promote cross-border projects including railways, highways, civil aviation, power grids, information and communications.

Ramkarki, Deputy Director of the Foreign and International Department of CPN (Maoist Centre), who recently visited China, said BRI is not a priority for Nepal. Nepal’s stance on the Belt and Road Initiative has also been shaky in the past.

After the deal was signed in 2017, the Nepalese government formed two committees headed by the foreign and finance ministers to negotiate with China on selected projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. A committee headed by the Minister of Finance of Nepal selected 35 projects for funding under the BRI.

Subsequently, China called on Nepal to reduce the total number of projects to single digits. Most of these projects are related to connectivity and infrastructure, according to a former Treasury official who was involved in numerous negotiations with the Chinese side.

The Belt and Road issue has resurfaced after Sher Bahadur Deuba takes over as Prime Minister of Nepal in 2021. During the visit of former Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in March 2022, Kathmandu indicated that it would prefer to provide grants and aid for BRI projects rather than loans.

According to reports, the Nepali side made it clear during talks with Chinese officials that due to its own needs and the severe economic situation, Nepal cannot afford high-interest loans.

According to the Kathmandu Post, an official from the Prime Minister’s Office said: “The economic situation in the country has not improved. We cannot get loans from anywhere including China because it will increase the pressure on Nepal’s economy.”

“Until the third BRI meeting is held in China and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s possible visit to Beijing, I don’t see any chance of a breakthrough on this front [financing modality],” the official further said.

Some experts blame geopolitics for the stalled BRI process, while others blame Nepal’s poor preparation and China’s lack of interest. Sundar Nath Bhattarai, chairman of the Center for China Studies, a Kathmandu think tank, said a third Belt and Road summit could be held in China later this year. According to Bhattarai, some of Nepal’s concerns may be discussed during the summit. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)