Kathmandu [Nepal], September 13 – Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has urged Nepal to maximise the benefits of growing cooperation between its two giant neighbours, India and China.
Writing on social media on Sunday in the context of the ongoing 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Bhattarai described the adoption of a 140-point proposal and the bilateral talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as positive developments.
He said Nepal a relatively underdeveloped country located between India and China and emerging from a prolonged political transition should move forward without hesitation to gain maximum benefit from developments between the two neighbours.
Bhattarai warned that Nepal had previously fallen into a cycle of underdevelopment and dependency by attempting to exploit differences between India and China for short-term political interests.
He said Nepal should carefully understand the implications of Xi’s call for both sides to take a strategic approach to the long-term development of bilateral relations as well as the broad directions outlined in the BRICS declaration adopted under India’s leadership.
Bhattarai said Nepal cannot secure a respectable position globally without achieving sustained economic prosperity and developing smart soft power.
He urged Kathmandu to pursue skilled diplomacy to benefit from possible growing competitive cooperation between India and China and strategically transform Nepal into a “dynamic bridge” between the two neighbours and eventually a “peace nation.”
