Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s inclination towards China is not hidden from anyone. Such is his desire to bond with China that the Nepal government is taking steps that could prove detrimental to Kathmandu’s relations with New Delhi. For those uninitiated, Nepal had staked a claim on three Indian territories in 2020 -Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh. The disputed area, a 370-square-kilometer stretch situated in the northwestern corner of the country, has been administered by India for many years.
While Nepal added these regions to its map via constitutional amendment in 2020, the areas have been under Indian control for over 200 years. Nepal shares a border of over 1,800 km with five Indian states- Sikkim, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. India had maintained that unilateral decisions on paper cannot change ground reality. Now, recently, the Oli cabinet approved the inclusion of its new map with these three Indian territories on its currency note of Nepali Rs 100. The printing of the new notes will test Kathmandu’s relations with India.
Notably, Nepal has awarded the contract of printing its new currency notes to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation. Nepal’s central bank – Nepal Rashtra Bank – issued its letter of intent to the Chinese firm on October 27. “This is to notify you that, it is our intention to award the contract for execution of the Procurement of the Designing, Printing, Supply and Delivery of 300 Million Pieces of Nepalese Rupees 100 Denomination Circulation Banknotes and Related Services to you as your bid price USD 8,996,592.00 (United States Dollars Eight Million Nine Hundred and Ninety-Six Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety-Two Only)…”
Amid this development, Nepalese PM Oli is reportedly planning to pay an official visit to China between mid-November and mid-December. However, an interesting development is that China has yet to extend an official invitation to Oli.
The proposed visit will be Oli’s first visit to the immediate neighbour since taking office in mid-July, his fourth tenure as Prime Minister of Nepal.
Oli had held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month. During the meeting, Oli extended an invitation to Modi to visit Nepal.
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