Radio TV Nepal

Nov 11, 2015- Twenty-six petrol-loaded tankers have arrived from China on Wednesday.

The tankers carried 270,066 liters of Chinese grant petrol. With today’s arrival, 374,300 liters of petrol remains to be hauled from China.

The Chinese government has pledged 1,000 tonnes of fuel as subsidy to Nepal as the country is reeling through acute fuel shortage due to India’s undeclared blockade.

A total of 97 tankers have transported the fuel via the Rawuagadhi-Kerung border point.

KATHMANDU, Oct 5: India's recent undeclared blockade has had serious effects in the country as political leaderships never took substantial initiatives to improve trade connectivity with China, according to experts and senior government officials.

They said that every successive government and political leadership announced to improve trade connectivity with China but they always held back from making any important decision for improving trade with China just to appease India.


Officials said the leaders never took action-oriented initiatives fearing that Indian establishment might consider their actions against the interest of the southern neighbor and that it could create hurdle for them to ascend to power.

"Leaders make big promise in public. But they never work as per their announcements because they always want to get blessings from Indian leadership instead of working for the national interest," former Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal told Republica. "Had the leaders worked sincerely as per their commitments, the trade connectivity with the northern neighbor would have been improved years ago."

Nepal has not learnt lessons from history is evident from the fact that it has been over 25 years since India first imposed trade blockade along Nepal-India border but none of the governments formed since then did anything remarkable for improving trade connectivity with China.

"It is really unfortunate that our political leaderships never showed the willpower and seriousness to protect and promote national interests," said Paudyal, "If any action favored national interest, political leadership should have gone for it at any cost instead of wasting time on what other countries would think of the decision," added Paudyal.

A high-ranking government official said that officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Supply have been working just to increase trade dependency with India instead of preparing serious plans for enhancing trade with China. The official said under the condition of anonymity that a recent agreement by Nepal Oil Corporation with Indian Oil Corporation for implementation of the Raxaul-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Pipeline Project was one of such decisions which only helped increase Indian dependency.

The agreement states that IOC will be the sole distributor of petroleum products for Nepal for another 15 years.

Joint-secretary Kebal Bhandari, who has worked for years overseeing customs-related responsibilities, said that the government should immediately work to construct road infrastructures in the eight customs points along the Nepal-China border. "The government can invest amount allocated for rural road constructions to develop infrastructures in the customs points to lower the dependency with India," he added.

He said that India would have felt pressure had Nepal's government been able to import only petroleum products from China during the recent blockade imposed by India.

According to reports, Nepal's trade dependency on India has constantly been increasing from a minimum of 20 per cent to around 80 per cent at present since the 1989 blockade.

"The more the trade dependency on a single country, the more the dependent country has to give up its national interests," said Paudyal. "So it is high time we took serious initiatives to diversify trade with various countries."

HONGKONG, Oct 6: Northern neighbor China has invited the chiefs of three major political parties of Nepal to its country on the occasion of the Silk Road Reconstruction Summit.

Even though China has invited the chiefs of three major parties of Nepal - Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal - who got united to promulgate the constitution of Nepal, only Dahal is making preparation to leave for China, so far.
Dahal will leave for China on a four-day visit unless possible hurdles including government formation and constitution amendment process obstruct him.

Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal - who got united to promulgate the constitution of Nepal, only Dahal is making preparation to leave for China, so far.

Dahal will leave for China on a four-day visit unless possible hurdles including government formation and constitution amendment process obstruct him.

According to Dahal's personal secretary and central member of the UCPN (Maoist) Chudamani Khadka , Dahal will fly to Beijing on October 14 and come back home on October 17. Dahal, who urged Chinese ambassador for Nepal to supply petroleum products by opening northern border, is heading to Beijing.

It is likely that Dahal will hold talks with top leaders including China's President Xi Jinping and apprise them of the latest political development of Nepal.

Dahal who is the strong supporter of the 'Silk Road Revival Project' brought by Xi Jingping will address the special conference.

The 'Silk Road Reconstruction' Special Summit will be held at the initiation of Communist Party of China between October 14-16, said Chung Eui-Yong, Co-chair of International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP). Chiefs of over 50 political parties and governments of Asian countries have been invited.

'Silk Road Revival Project' has been initiated by establishing a fund of USD 40 billion with a view to connecting Asia and Europe.

Oct 3, 2015- The track up to the Tatopani border with China, which was obstructed after the earthquake, was opened on Friday. The 26-km Barhabise-Tatopani section was obstructed in several places due to the landslides triggered by the Gorkha Earthquake and its aftershocks. “It will take one or two days to resume vehicular movement on the road,” said engineer Ram Bahadur Gurung at the Road Division Office in Charikot. The Araniko Highway is now linked with the Miteri
Bridge between Nepal and China. Nine bulldozers and excavators were used to clear the debris.

Border blockade connecting with new constitution is wrong: Diplomats
Diplomats have said that India's move to impose undeclared border blockade, relating it with the promulgation of the constitution, is inappropriate.

Speaking in an interaction organised by the Press Chautari Nepal here in the Capital today, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Bhesh Bahadur Thapa said that the constitution, promulgated with slight weakness in it though, has granted rights to all people and is in favour of the people and that it has also maintained international balance.

He added that there is no alternative to holding talks and reaching consensus to end weakness (if any) in the constitution. 
"The issue of addressing weaknesses (if any) in the constitution is Nepal's internal matter. There is no need for foreign group to be concerned on the matter," Thapa said.

He said that Nepal also should improve its diplomatic practice. "But there is not a situation to protect the tendency of letting a neighbor to take advantage through wrong means by troubling Nepali people," he added.

Similarly, CPN (UML) central member and diplomat Dr Rajan Bhattarai said that the capacity of a great country like India would be beneficial when she improves such capacity for improving her diplomatic relations with neighbour country.

Citing the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj denial on India's role in obstructing the movement of Nepal-bound cargo from border points while meeting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, on the sidelines of 70th session of the United Nation's ongoing General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Dr Bhattarai believed that the unannounced border blockade imposed by India would be lifted at the earliest.

Bhatatrai argued that widespread fuel shortage in Nepal should not be linked with the ongoing agitation in various parts of Terai and the unannounced border blockade.

According to him, Nepal may face a question if China raises the same question like seen in Teraibelt from other neighbouring country.

Dr Bhattrai said, " It is not meaningful to devoid the landlocked countries from the right to transit. Nepalis should be untied and committed to protect their dignity."

Press Chautari Chairperson, Rajendra Aryal spoke of the need for the government to gear up for the earliest resolution of the deadlock seen in the Nepal-Indian border points.