Submit your Article

US special coordinator for Tibetan affairs Uzra Zeya arrived in Dharamshala on Wednesday on a high-level visitation that signifies Washington’s significant support for the Tibetan issue.

She received a warm welcome from Tibetans, for a first such visit of a higher official from the Biden administration.

Zeya will be here for two days and meet activists and leaders of the exile community here. She will also meet the Dalai Lama on Thursday morning.

This key visit comes shortly after President of Central Tibetan administration Penpa Tsering’s visit to Washington last month. During his visit, Tsering met with the US Special envoy along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On Tuesday, Zeya held an “engaging” discussion with Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on regional issues of mutual interest.

“Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra had an engaging discussion with US Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya @UnderSecStateJ on regional issues of mutual interest,” the Ministry of External Affairs (EAM) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Zeya is on a visit to India and Nepal, from May 17-22. She was appointed as the special coordinator for Tibetan Issues in December last year.

The International Campaign for Tibet welcomed her appointment and expressed hope that she will work proactively at promoting dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and the Chinese leadership.

Source: ANI

Independent mayoral candidate Balen Shah has stretched his lead by 10, 113 votes in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

According to the latest update, he garnered 21, 111 votes.

CPN-UML candidate Keshav Sthapit, who is in the second place, secured 10, 998 votes.

Srijana Singh of Nepali Congress received 10, 173 votes.

Ahead of an US official visit to Nepal, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed bilateral and mutual relations of the two countries.

On the occasion, she thanked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba through Home Minister Khand on successfully holding the local level elections.

The Ambassador said that she also visited many polling stations on the voting day and was happy to see people taking part in the elections.

In response, Minister Khand said that the government has now started preparations for formulating budget for the new fiscal year.

Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Zeya is set to visit  Nepal from May 17 – 22 to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals, and to advance humanitarian priorities.

Both Kathmandu and New Delhi seem keen on normalizing the relationship that was strained after India in 2019  issued a new political map incorporating territories that belong to Nepal.

In recent months, there have been frequent high-level engagements and visits between Nepal and India. These bilateral dealings have largely revolved on economic partnership, connectivity, and hydropower projects. But issues of contention, including the map row and the report of the Eminent Persons Group, didn’t figure in these talks.

New Delhi’s renewed engagement with Kathmandu comes on the heels of growing interest shown by Washington and Beijing in Kathmandu. India, uncharacteristically, has refrained from taking positions on internal affairs of Nepal, and instead focused on completing development projects. A soft-power diplomacy to counter China perhaps.

Ranjit Rae, former Indian ambassador to Nepal, says recent high-level visits demonstrate the significance of partnership between the two countries. 

“There were a lot of ups and downs in bilateral relations, and some problems of the past have not been resolved,” he says. “It seems there is a strong commitment to economic partnership and there is a new momentum in energy cooperation too.”

During his India visit on April 1-3, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba did try to raise the boundary row, but his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi seemed uninterested.

When Modi visited Lumbini on May 16, thorny issues between Nepal and India were left undiscussed. 

Geja Sharma Wagle, a foreign policy expert, says recent Nepal-India bilateral engagements have left a lot to be desired. 

“Modi’s Lumbini visit seems to have been driven by his desire to improve the relationship, and for that he has used religious and cultural planks,” he says.

But it is also hard to expect genuine cordiality in Nepal-India relations without resolving outstanding issues.

Wagle says along with taking maximum benefit from the economic partnership, Nepal should adopt proactive diplomacy to resolve long-standing issues. 

Rae also says talks to resolve outstanding problems are important. The map issue, he says, has become complex after Nepal amended its constitution to incorporate the new map.

“Some talks have to begin but there is also no guarantee that Nepal’s political parties and parliament will accept the outcome of these negotiations,” he says.  

The existing mechanism for boundary talks is represented by foreign secretary. Experts are of the view that bureaucrats can't handle such sensitive issues and that there should be negotiation at the top political level.  

On the EPG, Rae says first there should be negotiations on the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty. “Once these talks start, EPG will no longer be a big issue,” he says.