The BRI Summit 2019

Photo Source: Hindustan Times
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The BRI Summit 2019
Across the Himalayas: Nepal and China

  Abigail Miriam Fernandez

Although there has been resistance from political elites, civil society, and environmental experts within Nepal who are of the opinion that a thorough risk analysis of BRI projects needs to be done before committing to them.

Nepal joined the BRI in 2017 when Premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ signed a memorandum of understanding with China. Since then Nepal has held on to the keen notation behind the vision and opportunities that this collaboration and partnership will bring. Bidya Devi Bhandari the president of Nepal attended the second Belt and Road Forum, this was the first time a Nepal’s head of state visited Beijing. President Bhandari met President Xi Jinping and held talks on the mutually beneficiary agreement of cooperation. Nepal has hoped to get Chinese support in areas of infrastructure development, Chinese FDI and increased bilateral investment.

A total of seven bilateral agreements were signed between the two countries. They are, Protocol to the Agreement on Transit Transport, through which Nepal will utilise China’s four seaports in Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang and Zhanjiang and three dry ports in Lanzhou, Lhasa and Shigatse, Handover Certificate of Grant-Aid for the Repair and Reinforcement Project of the Existing China-aided Projects, Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on Standardisation, Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, Minutes of Meeting on Strengthening Assistance Cooperation in the Field of Livelihood in the Northern Region of Nepal and Agreement on Preventing Theft, Clandestine Excavation and Illicit Export-Import of Cultural Property. In addition, there was the release of a Joint Communique titled Belt and Road Co-operation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future, where the leaders vowed to support and help landlocked countries transform into land linked by strengthening connectivity and cooperation by mutual beneficiary agreements, one of the major projects being  Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network, including the Nepal-China cross-border railway. They also emphasised on the importance of differential treatment in international trade for developing countries and reiterated their commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The BRI is thus emerging as a means of poverty eradication, generation of employment, infrastructure development, industrialisation and economic transformation for Nepal, Bhandari is looking forward to Nepal expanding its markets and their integration into global markets. She has been very accommodating of the BRI, she has gone on to say that her commitment to One China policy is strong and unshakable and that concrete measures have been put in place to ensure that their territory is not used for any activities directed against China.

Although there has been resistance from political elites, civil society, and environmental experts within Nepal who are of the opinion that a thorough risk analysis of BRI projects needs to be done before committing to them. However, Nepal’s participation in the BRI Summit is expected to give momentum to development projects under BRI framework and take bilateral relations to greater heights.

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