The China-India tussle for influence in South Asia can be expected to intensify should Pakistan and China’s plans for setting up a new regional organization materialize. According to a report in the Pakistani English daily, Express Tribune, the proposed regional grouping “could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).” According to...
Dr. Lok Raj Baral, an MA in Political Science from Tribhuvan University (TU), distinguished Professor, prolific writer having worked on 25 books, both authored and edited, frequent contributor to national and international newspapers and journals, and short-term Ambassador of Nepal to India, has published a new book on a subject of contemporary interest. He was...
When Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, so did one of his hallmark economic tools: tariffs. Wrapped in stars, stripes, and tough talk about American strength, the latest wave of tariffs was intended to bring factories back, narrow the trade deficit, and, once again, “Make America Great.” Now, with the July 9...
In recent months, pro-monarchy demonstrations have flared across Nepal, with some protesters carrying posters of Indian Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. These symbolic gestures are not incidental. They signal a growing ideological intersection between Nepal’s royalist nostalgia and India’s rising Hindu nationalism. For some in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – and its ideological mentor,...
Last week, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh held their first trilateral meeting in Kunming, China. The discussions focused on furthering cooperation and exploring the possibilities of deeper engagement. This meeting closely follows another trilateral meeting between China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, held in May, with the aim of extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and increasing cooperation. These trilaterals, led...
Over the past three years, the world has witnessed four major wars, each affecting Nepal to varying degrees. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Israel-Palestine war also erupted that year following a terrorist attack. India and Pakistan engaged in a short but deadly war after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and most recently, the Iran-US-Israel conflict...
When the world’s great powers looked away, India quietly stepped in. As conflict flared in Iran, it was not China, the United States, or any Western power that came to the rescue of stranded Nepali nationals-it was India. At Nepal’s request, Indian authorities included Nepali citizens in their evacuation flights, ensuring their safe passage home...
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact will move forward as planned, thanks to a waiver from the U.S. Secretary of State in February 2025. This decision ensures that the program will be fully implemented as the United States reviews its foreign aid policy. The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu stated that both the MCC and...
JERUSALEM, June 21: Since launching air strikes on Iran last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been working to pull President Donald Trump into the war, and sway a sceptical American public. In his daily calls and public statements, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has mixed praise and deference for the US leader, while also...
Shyam Saran has played a pivotal role in shaping India–Nepal relations over the past 25 years. Serving as India’s Ambassador to Nepal from 2002 to 2004, and soon after as Foreign Secretary, Saran was instrumental in facilitating the 12-point agreement between Nepal’s then seven-party alliance and the Maoists in New Delhi. That agreement laid the...