While much attention has been given to competition in the Indo-Pacific, the Himalayan landlocked countries of Nepal and Bhutan have been navigating their foreign policy and domestic priorities amid heightened global competition — especially between their regional neighbors India and China — while also pursuing critical economic and development needs. USIP’s Nilanthi Samaranayake, the Centre...
After a much discussed visit to China, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli presented a political report to the party’s central committee last week. The report repeated some of his entrenched views, redirecting sharp criticisms against the US and India. Oli has turned the current coalition into a paradox. The coalition partners embody a long-standing ideological...
Editor’s Note: Trade in the Himalayan region has seen robust growth in 2024, with Nepal’s trade with Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region skyrocketing by 75.8 percent year-on-year to 4.42 billion yuan ($606 million) in the first 11 months. China and Nepal signed a framework agreement to promote Belt and Road cooperation in early December. The...
The pilgrimage route to Kailash Mansarovar is once again in the news with the agreement reached between Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi towards opening the pilgrimage route to Kailash. This route was closed due to COVID 19, which continued even after its end due to the bloody fight...
The KP Sharma Oli-led administration is striving to improve its ties with New Delhi but has yet to achieve substantive results. Despite repeated attempts to mend relations, ruling party leaders and foreign policy experts suggest that bilateral relations between Nepal and India may be deteriorating rather than improving. A series of unresolved issues and missteps...
Writer and journalist Sudheer Sharma’s new book, Bhikshu, Byapar ra Bidroha, unveiled in August, offers a comprehensive account of the key figures, issues, and phenomena that have shaped Nepal-China relations. The book spans from the era of King Narendra Dev in the 7th century to 2008, when Nepal’s 240-year monarchy came to an end. Sharma’s...
Nepal’s geopolitical importance continues to grow as China, India, and the United States deepen their engagement. This heightened interest brings opportunities for economic development and international cooperation but also entangles Nepal in the complex web of competing global interests. The challenge for Nepal lies in crafting a foreign policy that balances opportunities with the realities...
As the year 2024 ends, it is the time to question, “What next?” With Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the helm, the question has become even more interesting. In the face of increased geopolitical rivalry at the global and regional levels, what kind of foreign policy is Nepal practising, and where will it take...
The survival, stability and progress of Nepal pivot on its act of nurturing internal social cohesion and balancing with the neighbours — India and China and other great powers. Successful adaptation in the changing geo-strategic landscape is central to ensure its destiny and affirm the nation’s historical aspiration of sovereignty. The interconnected world supposes Nepali...
(TibetanReview.net, Dec27’24) –Lumbini, the birthplace in Nepal of the Buddha Shakyamuni, has become a geopolitical playing field for China despite protests from local citizens who remain anxious to preserve its Buddhist and spiritual significance above all else, according to an opinion piece in the indianexpress.com Dec 26. This year, China not only prevented the fourth...