The fifth meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission has nothing new on the table to discuss, though it has been going to be held after three years. The last meeting of the commission was held in New Delhi in 2016. This meeting should have been held in February, but was postponed due to the Indian parliamentary elections.
When Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar will arriving next week, the commission will review the past agreements only, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The meeting is taking place after three years, where foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali will discuss with his Indian counterpart to discuss and review all aspects of bilateral ties, though there is no new agenda on the table. S Jaishankar – after becoming the Indian external affairs minister – is arriving Kathmandu on August 21.
It is also the first high-level visit from India since the reelection – in May – of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his second term.
“We will review past agreements, projects and commitments,” foreign secretary Shankar Das Bairagi said, adding that there is no new issue in the meeting. “We will make a comprehensive review of all aspects of Nepal-India relations under five broad clusters including political, security and boundary; economic cooperation and infrastructure; trade and transit; power and water resources; culture and education.”
All previous agreements and projects will be discussed within the purview under those five clusters, he said, adding that the report prepared by the Eminent Persons’ Group on Nepal-India Relations, which has yet to be submitted to the prime ministers of the two countries, will also be discussed. “The report prepared last year remains with the Group.”
Nepal will be pitching the report during the meeting so that an environment can be created to put its suggestions into action. On top of the agenda is clearing bottlenecks for India-funded projects in Nepal including inundation on the Nepal side of the border during the rainy season; the construction of roads and bridges, cross-order connectivity, including railways, inland waterways, Nepal’s request to use two additional Indian ports in Gujarat and Odisha, energy banking, early financial closure of the Upper Karnali hydropower project, inauguration of an integrated check-post in Biratnagar, cross-border petroleum pipeline and transmission lines, and the finalisation of projects to utilise grant and loan offered by the government of India for reconstruction.
According to foreign minister Gyawali, India-funded projects that have been in limbo for nearly 20 years should be dropped. “Let's drop projects that have been pending for so long,” he said, adding that they are only creating irritants between the two countries.
Though he did not mention the manes of the projects, an understanding had been reached between Nepal and India during the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s state visit to India in April to develop a cross-border railway connecting Kathmandu with Raxaul, develop inland waterways from Kolkata to the Nepal border via the Ganga River and cooperation in the agriculture sector.
It seems that the incumbent government does not want to expedite old projects but wants to execute the promises made during Oli’s visit to India.
The joint commission at the foreign minister level is the highest mechanism that will review all aspects of bilateral ties between the two countries, and is empowered to take decisions as well as plan new projects.
However, the agenda for the visit includes ballooning trade deficit with India, signing the mutual recognition agreement with India for pesticide residue test, completing the detailed project report of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project to start further action, compensation for Nepali citizens as per Gandak Agreement, early completion of the link canal and head regulator at Tanakpur barrage for the discharge of water to Nepal as per the provision of Mahakali Treaty, according to the Foreign Ministry that is not yet convinced of any concrete results from the discussions.
They will also discuss on the synchronisation of customs and connectivity at the ICD Dodhara-Chandani, and border points at Dodhara-Chandani-Khatima and Dhangadhi-Gauriphanta, among others.
During his visit to Kathmandu, Jaishankar is going to meet with President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the prime minister, and other senior political leaders. He will interact with a broad spectrum of Nepali political leaders to discuss what the new government in India thinks about Nepal and, most importantly, help New Delhi plan its Nepal policy.
When Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar will arriving next week, the commission will review the past agreements only, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The meeting is taking place after three years, where foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali will discuss with his Indian counterpart to discuss and review all aspects of bilateral ties, though there is no new agenda on the table. S Jaishankar – after becoming the Indian external affairs minister – is arriving Kathmandu on August 21.
It is also the first high-level visit from India since the reelection – in May – of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his second term.
“We will review past agreements, projects and commitments,” foreign secretary Shankar Das Bairagi said, adding that there is no new issue in the meeting. “We will make a comprehensive review of all aspects of Nepal-India relations under five broad clusters including political, security and boundary; economic cooperation and infrastructure; trade and transit; power and water resources; culture and education.”
All previous agreements and projects will be discussed within the purview under those five clusters, he said, adding that the report prepared by the Eminent Persons’ Group on Nepal-India Relations, which has yet to be submitted to the prime ministers of the two countries, will also be discussed. “The report prepared last year remains with the Group.”
Nepal will be pitching the report during the meeting so that an environment can be created to put its suggestions into action. On top of the agenda is clearing bottlenecks for India-funded projects in Nepal including inundation on the Nepal side of the border during the rainy season; the construction of roads and bridges, cross-order connectivity, including railways, inland waterways, Nepal’s request to use two additional Indian ports in Gujarat and Odisha, energy banking, early financial closure of the Upper Karnali hydropower project, inauguration of an integrated check-post in Biratnagar, cross-border petroleum pipeline and transmission lines, and the finalisation of projects to utilise grant and loan offered by the government of India for reconstruction.
According to foreign minister Gyawali, India-funded projects that have been in limbo for nearly 20 years should be dropped. “Let's drop projects that have been pending for so long,” he said, adding that they are only creating irritants between the two countries.
Though he did not mention the manes of the projects, an understanding had been reached between Nepal and India during the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s state visit to India in April to develop a cross-border railway connecting Kathmandu with Raxaul, develop inland waterways from Kolkata to the Nepal border via the Ganga River and cooperation in the agriculture sector.
It seems that the incumbent government does not want to expedite old projects but wants to execute the promises made during Oli’s visit to India.
The joint commission at the foreign minister level is the highest mechanism that will review all aspects of bilateral ties between the two countries, and is empowered to take decisions as well as plan new projects.
However, the agenda for the visit includes ballooning trade deficit with India, signing the mutual recognition agreement with India for pesticide residue test, completing the detailed project report of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project to start further action, compensation for Nepali citizens as per Gandak Agreement, early completion of the link canal and head regulator at Tanakpur barrage for the discharge of water to Nepal as per the provision of Mahakali Treaty, according to the Foreign Ministry that is not yet convinced of any concrete results from the discussions.
They will also discuss on the synchronisation of customs and connectivity at the ICD Dodhara-Chandani, and border points at Dodhara-Chandani-Khatima and Dhangadhi-Gauriphanta, among others.
During his visit to Kathmandu, Jaishankar is going to meet with President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the prime minister, and other senior political leaders. He will interact with a broad spectrum of Nepali political leaders to discuss what the new government in India thinks about Nepal and, most importantly, help New Delhi plan its Nepal policy.
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