On December 4, 2024, Nepal and China signed a common framework for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation. The ruling coalition—Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML)—negotiated and introduced the framework as an “Aid Financing Assistance” model. A couple of months have passed, and while the Chinese side appears determined...
As China’s big-ticket BRI projects face delays and disputes, India’s nimble-footed, economical, people-centric, and timely development initiatives are rebuilding its goodwill in Nepal.More than eight years after Nepal signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) with China on implementing BRI projects in the Himalayan nation, not a single project has taken off. Wrangling between Kathmandu and...
When Donald Trump became the U.S. president for the second time on January 20, he halted all American aid provided by the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Less than a month later came the news that Trump was also in the process of freezing funds under the Millennium Challenge...
The Chinese are known to carry out mega projects at lightning speed. But in Nepal, projects tend to get bogged down. As regards Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative projects in Nepal, it is hard to say if the BRI has fallen victim to Nepal’s lethargic approach, to broader geopolitics or China’s...
Lack of progress on the 10 projects Nepal had proposed to China under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents us with a curious paradox. Some reckon even though Kathmandu itself proposed these projects, it has of late been wary of increasing engagement with Beijing. India has never viewed the BRI...
The Chinese are known to carry out mega projects at lightning speed. But in Nepal, projects tend to get bogged down. As regards Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative projects in Nepal, it is hard to say if the BRI has fallen victim to Nepal’s lethargic approach, to broader geopolitics or China’s...
The morning sun illuminates the intricate stone bricks of Durbar Square, bringing the exquisite stone carvings on the 18th-century palace walls to life. My fingers gently touch the newly restored wooden doors, their surface warm and vivid — as if they had just awakened from a masterful surgery. The carved patterns tell a story: the...
he decision by American President Donald Trump’s administration to cut funding for projects in Nepal may affect ties between the two countries. On the other hand, after more than seven years of its signing, Nepal and China have agreed on the cooperation framework for the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. A change in...
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has dealt a major blow to China. Deuba stated that Nepal is not taking any loans under the Belt and Road Project, which has become a debt trap for China. Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping had pressurised Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli during his visit to Beijing to approve...
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects are touted to transform Nepal’s economic landscape. As the bilateral agreement was initiated amid confusion, it has faced criticisms, and the projects are likely to falter on many obstacles along the way to their successful implementation. There will certainly emerge multiple hurdles in course of the projects’ execution...