Shisir Khanal’s foreign trips are not enough to secure Nepal’s interests

The onus is now on PM Shah to craft a credible Nepali foreign-policy narrative.

One evident goal of the ongoing China visit of Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, which is taking place hot on the heels of his India trip, is to maintain a balance between Nepal’s two immediate neighbours. Before Khanal went to India, it was Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane who was in New Delhi, where he got a rapturous welcome from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the government it leads. Nepal can never stop this delicate geopolitical dance between India and China. Yet even a casual chat with a visiting Chinese scholar or official in Nepal will quickly make it clear that it is not so much India that China is worried about. It is more the prospect of the US doing mischief in Kathmandu, perhaps in concert with India. This is why, during his current China trip, Khanal will try to allay Chinese concerns about growing American engagement in Nepal. From Beijing’s perspective, the Americans had at least some role in last year’s Gen Z uprising as well as in the subsequent political developments. China suspects that the recent heavy involvement of the Americans is one reason the BRI projects in Nepal have not taken off.