May 22, 2022
2 mins read

Modi’s Lumbini visit irks China

The visit and the outcome are being closely monitored by China. Beijing based news organisation Global Times said that Modi’s visit to Nepal is aimed at exerting soft power…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s one day visit to Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and his acknowledgment that Lumbini was Buddha’s birthplace has been a “huge sentiment booster” in the Himalayan nation. This was Modi’s fifth visit to Nepal.

While Modi in his address to the Nepalese Parliament during his first trip to Kathmandu, acknowledged that Lumbini was the Buddha’s birthplace, but the recent visit “during this 2566th birth anniversary of the Buddha has buried this ghost forever,” the Himalayan Times said.

The visit and the outcome are being closely monitored by China. Beijing based news organisation Global Times said that Modi’s visit to Nepal is aimed at exerting soft power.

Modi has underlined the need to boost connectivity in South Asia under his Neighbourhood Policy.

PM Narendra Modi meeting his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi. (PIB)

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University told the newspaper that Modi in his second term has attached greater importance to building ties with neighbouring countries, “pushing forward India-Nepal relations to a new height.”

“China has never opposed India and Nepal establishing closer relations, and we hope that China and India, the two major powers neighbouring Nepal, can join hands and take the responsibility to help our neighbour in terms of infrastructure and disaster relief. China has always held a positive attitude on cooperating more with India on South Asia issues, and bringing the region’s development on to a fast track,” Global Times quoted Qian as saying.

Most foreign policy watchers have said that Modi’s visit could be a game changer in India-Nepal relations. They also said that the visit will put Lumbini on the global map.

Last month, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba visited India just after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi and Kathmandu.

Wang’s Nepal visit failed to create any significant impact.

Following Wang’s visit, in the official statement the Nepalese foreign ministry did not mention anything on the much hyped Belt and Road Initiative even as Kathmandu and Beijing signed the pact in 2017. Though a host of agreements between Nepal and China were signed in the presence of Wang but according to analysts those were more “customary” in nature.

Interestingly, the Narendra Modi government has also embarked on party-to-party engagements with neighbouring countries.

In October, a three-member delegation of the Nepali Congress led by head of party’s international department Prakash Sharan Mahat visited India opening up an informal channel of engagements as well.

“Going ahead, engagements between the two countries will be multipronged-not just official visits but also social and informal, something which is expected to iron out any kind of differences and issues if at all they come up,” an insider told India Narrative.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

ALSO READ: Pak FM Bilawal Bhutto due in China

Previous Story

Quad summit 2022 to focus on Indo-Pacific

Next Story

The real story is not Abu Akleh’s murder

Latest from -Top News

Bangladesh Elections on EU Radar

EU Pre-Election Team to Visit Bangladesh in September Ahead of 13th Parliamentary Polls…reports Asian Lite News Bangladesh Election Commission’s Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed announced on Monday that a European Union (EU) pre-election

After Pakistan, China Backing Iran Too?

China and Iran signed a 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement that covered trade, energy and security, showcasing the strategic value that Beijing places on Tehran….reports Asian Lite News Despite its long-standing claims of

US-India ties is a slow-motion catastrophe

For the first time in two decades, Trump’s actions, statements, and coercive tone have made relations with the US a combustible domestic political issue in India, writes Manoj Menon The post-globalisation uncertainty

Modi Welcomes Marcos Jr to Delhi

PM Modi Welcomes Philippines President Marcos Jr to Strengthen India-Philippines Ties…reports Asian Lite News Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warmly welcomed Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr at Hyderabad House in

Is Bangladesh Turning Into a Theocratic State?

The rise of radical Islamic influence under Yunus’s watch threatens to transform Bangladesh from a secular democracy into a theocratic state….writes Anna Mahjar-Barducci Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus’s transition from economist
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Need to prevent terrorists from accessing Africa’s resources: India

The Minister said that preventing these inimical outfits from accessing

IAF’s Sarang team to take part in MAKS air show in Russia

The air show is a biennial fixture and this year’s