(LiveMint)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Nepal next week, a little more than a month after Nepal’s prime minister K.P.Sharma Oli visited New Delhi, in a bid to consolidate ties strained by a disagreement over Nepal’s 2015 constitution.
The visit is seen as key as New Delhi sets about doing a course correction in ties with the aim of keeping Nepal within its political and diplomatic fold in South Asia where giant neighbour China has been making deep inroads through its infrastructure projects and cheap loans.
One of the highlights of Modi’s visit to Nepal will be the inauguration of the 900 MW Arun 111 hydro power project, being constructed with Indian assistance, two people familiar with the development said. This is seen as a move to integrate Nepal’s economy with that of India, something analysts say will go a long way to counter China’s growing influence in the Himalayan nation.
