29 November 2020, NIICE Commentary
Dr. J Prasad Davids
The recent visit of Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of India to Nepal is to be welcomed as it indicates the genuine desire of both countries to strengthen ties and take them to greater heights. The meeting with Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli marked another major gesture of goodwill which had been exchanged between the two countries. The people of India were glad that the Prime Minister of Nepal had greeted Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, earlier on the occasion of Independence Day. It was heartening to note that India’s Foreign Secretary had productive meetings with his counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal and Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Minister covering various outstanding issues including development partnership projects in various stages of completion.
The relations between Nepal and India are unique and exist for centuries. The bonds are so strong that they cannot be broken, and the aspirations of goodwill are tall as the Himalayas while the snowcapped peaks indicate the purity of the spiritual bonds that exist between both countries. Both countries share the same religion of Hinduism, while they are also bound by Buddhism as Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal in 623 BC and he further travelled to India. Buddhism spread further to the different parts of the world, including Sri Lanka and Thailand. Against this background, it would be imperative that religious and heritage tours be organised for people keen to visit Nepal and explore its diverse and distinct attributes, especially from India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Similar tours can be organised for the Nepali people covering all three countries. The temples of Southern India are unique beginning from Tirupathi, Kanchipuram, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madurai and Rameswaram. The effects would be far reaching in strengthening people-to-people connect.
The countries of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have rightly chosen Nepal as the centre for the SAARC secretariat recognising the merits of Nepal which is a peaceful country with immense goodwill from all SAARC countries. In fact, the worthy objectives of the SAARC need to be not only reviewed but also implemented. The meetings need to be kept periodically in each country by turn and visa formalities need to be eased especially during that time. The SAARC Chamber of Commerce needs to be strengthened to identify common problems of procedure and policy and to find solutions for the same. Trade and investment can thus be facilitated. Meetings in India need to be kept not only in New Delhi but also in any city of the south as India is a large country and the people in the south also need to participate. SAARC meetings held in Sri Lanka have always been a great success. Many businesses have arisen out of these conferences as businessmen speak the language of business and not politics. It has also helped Indian businessmen to meet their counterparts in Pakistan and other member countries.
Both India and Nepal have been affected by the global pandemic COVID-19. Showing the goodwill gesture, the Foreign Secretary of India rightly presented 2000 vials of Remdesivir to Nepal. India should play proactive role in the distribution of vaccines to Nepalese. A similar gesture may be shown to the SAARC member countries once the vaccines have proved their efficacy. India has rightly played a timely role during the earthquake in Nepal in 2015 which helped many affected citizens. The relations between India and Nepal have always been unique. Recognising the significance of these relations the Heads of the State and the Prime Ministers of both the countries have exchanged visits.
The people-to-people friendship covers not only culture, but also religion, tourism, business and indeed every sector including defence. Around 600 thousand Indians live and work in Nepal while approximately eight million Nepalese live and work in India. Nepalese are respected everywhere for their honesty, loyalty, hard work and dependability. In fact Field Marshal SAM Manekshaw, once remarked—“If a man says that he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.” It is estimated that there are over 32,000, Gurkhas in the Indian army in over 35 battalions called Gurkha regiments indicating their bravery and loyalty. Great Britain has recognised their unique qualities and has a Gurkhas serving in their army. A Nepali can join the Indian army either as a Jawan or even as an officer which makes Nepal-India relations unique.
India’s economic relations with Nepal are quite good although much more could be done. In 2019-20, economic assistance had crossed INR 12 billion, for development in various sectors of the economy—such as agriculture, water resources, energy, infrastructure etc. Total bilateral trade has reached to the extent of USD 8.27 billion. India’s exports for the same year have been around USD 7.76 billion, while imports into India from Nepal have been around USD 508 million. The balance of trade is much in India‘s favour considering that many essential items have to be imported from India. As far as investment is concerned India accounts for over 30 percent of the total FDI into Nepal and over 150 Indian ventures are successfully operating in Nepal in various fields such as banking, insurance, telecom, agro-based industries, education etc. It is interesting to note that leading Indian companies such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Tata power, Dabur, and others have set up manufacturing ventures in Nepal.
However, considering the adverse balance of trade it is suggested that more Indian ventures be encouraged whose products could be exported by Nepal into India with duty concessions by India or even duty free. Investment in new technologies such as infrastructure for future electric cars be established apart from solar, wind and hydroelectric power. This will help to reduce the cost of petroleum imported into Nepal. Other areas of investment should be in areas such as agro based industries, livestock, dairy products etc. which can be easily absorbed by India. In order to step up investment and trade, it is suggested that an India-Nepal Joint Business Council (INJBC) be established at the inclusive of governments. The specific areas of business in the future may be identified and all bottlenecks of procedures, quality testing, logistics, customs procedures, infrastructure etc. should be identified and solutions found and implemented. The cost of a working secretariat including research may be funded by India. Indian companies may be encouraged to fund by offering tax exemptions.
In the sphere of education, while Nepalese are offered scholarships in India, the concept should be spread to all universities in India. In fact, scholarships should be given to the youth in the SAARC countries. The setting up of a medical college by the Manipal Group is a worthy venture as students from South India have expressed their satisfaction about the quality of education. Another area of concern could be in the field of medical treatment where a discount for Nepal’s citizens could be given by Indian hospitals reimbursable by the Indian Government to the extent of discounts with incentives to such hospitals with details to be identified. India and Nepal may consider organising a Nepal Week every year in different cities in India to focus attention on products made in Nepal which Indian citizens may buy. The cost of infrastructure such as hall rent may be borne by any of the Governments or sponsored by industry as part of their corporate social responsibility. In fact, such exhibitions may be conducted for the SAARC countries as a whole.
India-Nepal Relations should be further strengthened in the interest of both countries for peace, security; and economic prosperity. India’s goodwill is with no strings attached. Nepal is free to exercise its choices in international affairs but it should stay vigilant to China’s aggression in the region, it could learn on time from the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Both countries’ have had a loss-making exposure with China. It is utmost important that both India and Nepal should exercise caution and be aware of any such undue influence or interest which can negatively impact the long-term prospects for the people of both countries. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen the existing relationship further for the peace, and prosperity of the people of both countries who are already inseparable in every way. We must stand with the spirit of our bilateral relations.
