CESIF holds discussion on ‘Small Scale Aid in Borderlands and Cross-border Ties’

Centre for Social Inclusion and Federalism (CESIF) organized a round table discussion on ‘Small Scale Aid in Borderlands and Cross-border Ties’, reflecting on two of its publications: “Dynamics of Small-Scale Foreign Aid in Nepal’s Borderlands” and “Evolving Nepal-China Cross Border Relations and Its Impact on Borderland Citizens.”

The Executive Chair of CESIF, Vijay Kant Karna reflected in his opening remarks the importance of research on Nepal’s trade and border relations with China and India.

Madhav Sapkota, Member of Infrastructure Development Committee (HoR), Hon’ble Samjhana Thapaliya, Member of International Relations and Tourism Committee (HoR), Former Secretary Krishna Gyawali, Former Secretary Lal Shankar Ghimire and Secretary of Ministry, Commerce and Supplies, Madhu Marasini were the prominent speakers during the discussion, reads a statement issued by CESIF.

Presenting the findings on “Dynamics of Small-Scale Foreign Aid in Nepal’s Borderlands,” Milan Acharya, a researcher at CESIF, said that China’s small-scale aid focuses solely on the northern frontier districts bordering Tibet Autonomous Region. Of late, India’s small-scale aid and projects have increased in the northern region. The research found that China has a tendency to override state mechanisms and procedures and its small-scale aid is unregulated compared to that of India’s.

Sharing the findings of the research “Evolving Nepal-China Cross Border Relations and Its Impact on Borderland Citizens,” Prabisha Basnet, a researcher at CESIF said, “The Dalai Lama issue remains a major obstacle, with China viewing reverence as a security threat. Unilateral border closures, stringent checks, and declining trade also impacted cross-border marriages and cultural exchanges.”

The dialogue brought together diverse views from the parliamentarians and experts, according to the statement.

Sapkota, representing a northern bordering district Sindhupalchowk, shared his experience of China’s aid in Nepal. He specified an example of the high maintenance cost of a school constructed by China.

Samjhana Thapaliya raised concerns about the border issues with India in Saptari which need to be resolved by both neighbors, India and Nepal.

Former Secretary Krishna Gyawali congratulated CESIF for the findings and further commented on small aid in Nepal.

He said that although small aid assistance is very important, its sustainability after the departure of donors’ funding also needs to be taken into account. He saw lobbying from politicians as the most important factor for small scale funds at the local level.

Secretary Gyawali noted that the objective of small-scale aid must be aligned with national interest, with appropriate monitoring, operation maintenance and accountability mechanisms. Former Secretary Lal Shankar Ghimire expressed his concern on Nepal having an agreement with Tibet, a province of China instead of its central government.

Overall, the participants were united in expressing that small scale aid is important from both India and China. However, it needs to be regulated by the Nepali state mechanism. For this to go ahead, there has to be an institutional cohesion between ministries.