[The 'much admired' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being heartily welcomed as he visits the Himalayan country this August 3 and 4. Below is a post today, published in Republica by a former Nepalese finance and foreign minister Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani. The author expresses optimism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit will pave a way for a new beginning in Indo-Nepal bilateral relations. With Modi's coming to power in India, hopes are soaring high in Kathmandu. The author also suggests that both countries sit together, as times have changed, to revise the 1950's agreement which is kind of bit lopsided. -The Blogger]
By Dr. Prakash Chandra
Lohani *
 |
| Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
A visionary leader
Modi has clearly indicated that
improving relations with neighbors is his priority, which was evident when he
graciously invited government heads of all South Asian countries to his
inauguration. He exhibits the image of a confident and forward-looking leader
who wants to go the extra mile in promoting an atmosphere of trust between India
and other South Asian nations. Therefore his visit is an opportunity both for India
and Nepal to
build the relationship between the two nations based on the principles of
mutual respect and mutual gains.
Relations between nations are
defined by their perceptions of national interests. In this context high level
political visit provides leaders the opportunity to understand first hand areas
of cooperation and other concerns as well a. We, in Nepal
should be mindful that Modi is the prime minister of India
and so it is his duty to look after Indian interests, even while he helps Nepal
realize its socio-economic goals. We should also be aware that the development
of Nepal is
basically the responsibility of Nepali people and foreign help is relevant only
when government and people of Nepal
are clear about their interests and priorities. What this means is that the
prime minister of Nepal
should be clear both conceptually and in operational terms about Nepal ’s
national interests while outlining areas of mutual cooperation in dialogue with
the Indian leader.
Mutually beneficial
From the Indian perspective, the
areas of concerns are probably water resources and security. We should be aware
of this and outline a course of action in the best interest of both, keeping in
mind the sovereign equality among nations. Both Nepal
and India to should
focus on maximum utilization of water resources for mutual benefits. The
question is: what would the best way to doing that?
Both India
and Nepal
probably agree that the water resources agreement of 1950’s cannot be a hallmark
for all times. The new model must be based on two important ground realities. First,
exploitation of water resources and its use both for agriculture and industrial
development as well as export has been a consistent theme of Nepal ’s
development strategy even though our success has been limited. Second, India
needs energy and water to fuel its future growth in the Indo-Gangetic region
that is home to over 450 million. Both these objectives can be achieved if we
design a framework of energy development and understanding on principles regarding
water use for irrigation, plus navigation from large high dam projects that are
economically viable and politically acceptable to both the nations.
Free trade
Free trade in power between Nepal
and India has
been proposed by Nepal
for last 18 years. In 1996 when I was the foreign minister in Sher Bahadur
Deuba government, the two countries had signed a power trade agreement in Bombay ,
incorporating some of the provisions I have outlined above. Again in 1997, the
then Nepali state minister for water resources Rajiv Parajuli and his Indian
counterpart S. Venugopalachari signed an expanded version of 1996 agreement and
it was general understanding that we would enter a new area in energy
cooperation with market playing the central role. There was also expectation
that the Pancheswor agreement, then signed by Pranab Mukherjee, who is now the
President of India, and myself as the foreign minister of Nepal, would be
launched and the power trade agreement would be instrumental for the project’s
success. But for the last 16 years there has been no progress and Nepal
and India acted
as if both were frozen in time.
The new twist
Suddenly we are now told that the
government received a new draft on this issue three months ago from India .
The draft, it is argued, ignores the spirit of past agreements on power trade. The
Indian draft has created a controversy that needs to be settled quickly with
sense and reason. For this both India
and Nepal need
to agree on three basic propositions. First, any agreement on power trade and
cooperation with India
should not in any way restrict Nepal ’s
right to decide on projects inside its territory and in dealing with investors
or other countries. The present draft, as many experts and media have argued, is
ambiguous and leaves scope for multiple interpretations. Second, we should
focus on power trade and allow market forces to set tariff rates towards
building a common power market.
Perhaps a new beginning could be
made if the proposed agreement clearly states in its title that it is power
sector cooperation and trade agreement. And trade means both exports and
imports also. The articles of the agreement should reflect the spirit of the
new title and deal with various issues (like tariff) both for exports and
imports of power. Third, as pointed by experts in the field, any new agreement
should be cognizant of the spirit of the 1997 agreement between Nepal
and India as
well as the new draft agreement sent by Nepal
in 2010. Somewhere along the line this point has been ignored and it is
surprising that Nepal
has not raised this issue.
Basically, there is now need for
reason rather than accusations. It is unfortunate that the Indian draft was
kept secret for over three months by the Energy Ministry, fuelling all sorts of
speculations. People have the right to know their government’s position on
crucial issues that affect the future of the nation. Regrettably, utter neglect
of the political and administrative officials of Energy Ministry in responding
to the Indian initiative has only muddied the political atmosphere. The
government should rather have studied the Indian proposal thoroughly keeping
past agreements in mind and come to an informed opinion after discussions with
agencies concerned, both administrative and political.
But this was not done. I talked
to Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey recently and he was honest enough to admit
that his ministry had been completely bypassed and he simply did not know what
was happening. It seems that in the current government the left hand does not
know what the right is doing, a dangerous sign. In fact one wonders if there is
anyone in charge of the Energy Ministry at all.
Boldness needed
Finally, it has been reported
that Nepal has
been asked to identify projects that need Indian help. This is a gesture of
friendship that should be appreciated. My suggestion would be to concentrate on
implementing the agreed projects with the potential to benefit both the nations.
The project that meets this criterion would be Pancheswor Multi Purpose, which,
apart from other benefits, is expected to generate 6,000 MW of power. We signed
an agreement to implement this project 17 years ago and it has been ratified by
the Nepali parliament. It needs the vision and determination of a bold and
decisive leader like Modi to push it from India ’s
side. Nepal for
its part has been waiting for a long time.
* The author is a senior leader of
the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, former finance and foreign minister of Nepal.
@ Republica
@ Republica
