India, China for trilateral co-op with Nepal

Heads of the governments of India and China have recently agreed to work jointly with Nepal for its reconstruction, rehabilitation and development endeavours, respecting the country’s sovereignty and independence.

This was agreed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in Beijing during the former’s recent visit to China.

According to a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, after the talks between Modi and Li on May 15, the two sides commended each other’s efforts in assisting Nepal’s post-quake rescue and relief operations, and agreed to “vigorously” engage in and strengthen cooperation on disaster mitigation and relief assistance .

On May 16, while delivering a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Modi had said that India and China should work together in a range of issues and areas. The two countries should ensure that their relationships with other countries “do not become a source of concern for each other”.

“And, wherever possible and feasible, we should work together, as we did in responding to the earthquake in Nepal,” he added.

“We are both increasing our engagement in our shared neighbourhood,” he said, adding that this called for deeper strategic communication to build mutual trust and confidence.

Visiting Chinese Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao also talked about the understanding between the Indian and Chinese leaders in Beijing in his separate meetings with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey on Thursday.

This is a positive and welcome step, Minister Pandey said after his meeting with Liu. “It is up to us now to arrange such a meeting and we will do necessary homework in this respect,” he added.

Though it is for Nepal to decide what kind of assistance to accept from the international community, the desire expressed by India and China to develop Nepal as a transit point is an excellent idea, said Pandey.

The Nepali side has hailed the understanding to cooperate by respecting Nepal’s sovereignty and independence and extend all necessary help for reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Liu also paid a courtesy call on PM Shushil Koirala. He said China could help build infrastructure and restore cultural and historical heritages destroyed by the devastating earthquakes.

China is preparing to dispatch its third phase of relief materials to Nepal worth Rs 1.32 billion (80 million Yuan). During his meeting with Acting Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, Chinese Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao said the northern neighbour will also assist in the establishment of an earthquake monitoring mechanism in Nepal. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu assured help in capacity-building and rehabilitation of the affected people.