| Bha. Ru. in Billions & the True Indian Goodwill
PM Koirala is back home after his 4-day sojourn of India. Compared to his last big visit of the Delhi Durbar in July 2000, which Newslook covered extensively, this trip went very well for him. Then, he attempted to discuss "all issues" with his counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee, made a trip to the Indian Silicon Valley to emulate the Indian economic formula, gave speeches and luncheon addresses and proposed toasts. Despite that, commentators dubbed his visit as a "missed opportunity." Some said he returned home "almost empty handed." This time round, his visit, which followed the popular April Uprising in Kathmandu, managed to generate Ne Ru 15 billion! And that without any formal speeches! Suddenly, Nepal, which was pushed behind Bhutan in Indian aid diplomacy, has topped New Delhi's assistance list. That may be New Delhi's reward for Koirala, the most powerful PM under Nepali democray ever to visit India. But the real Indian goodwill should reflect in its resolution of several outstanding issues, including the 1950 Treaty, the Bhutanese refugees problem, Kalapani, Maoists' bases in India, disputes over shared river projects, and Nepalis' security in India-- all too familiar, yet unsolved. In fact, the internal revolution in Nepal may be over (even Prachanda sounds optimistic on peace), but a truly Nepali revolution will remain incomplete, say, without resolving the 1950 Treaty with India.
Joint press statement, Nepal-India, at the end of Koirala visit
MEA India's statement on Koirala visit