Kathmandu, March 26 (IANS) Although China congratulated Nepal and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) for its sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections held on March 5, the results have emerged as a setback for Beijing, analysts reckon.The RSP, led by former media personality Rabi Lamichhane and Prime Ministerial hopeful Balen Shah, emerged as the largest political party in the House of Representatives, securing nearly a two-thirds majority. Traditional political parties, including the Nepa…
Latest Belt and Road Initiative News & Updates
New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent state visit to Israel marked a strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries as part of a “sophisticated geo-economic gambit,” according to an article in The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune.The article highlights that PM Modi’s address to the Knesset outlined both his government’s broader strategic outlook and Israel’s place within it. In his remarks, PM Modi signalled a commitment to building a regional ar…
Kathmandu/New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Even before a new government officially assumes office in Nepal, certain contentious issues coming to the public domain recently are raising serious questions over the previous government’s economic and ideological connections with China. Though former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli faced strong political opposition within, and diplomatic resistance outside over security issues, he included several ambitious projects under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (…
New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) India, which holds the world’s fifth largest rare earth reserves and the required technology to produce these minerals, can play a crucial role in breaking China’s near-monopoly on these critical minerals required for making electric vehicles, wind turbines, hi-tech electronic goods and defence equipment, according to an article.The global race for rare earth elements (REEs) has shifted from the margins of industrial policy to the centre of geopolitics. China current…
Washington, March 11 (IANS) A new report by Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has warned that President Donald Trump’s policies have weakened the United States in its strategic rivalry with China, arguing that trade wars, cuts to foreign assistance, and strained alliances have created opportunities for Beijing to expand its global influence.The 56-page report, titled “The Price of Retreat 2.0: Undermining America’s Economic Edge and Alliance Advantage,” was rel…
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) Pakistan’s raging war across the border with Afghanistan has put in danger the next instalment of the IMF funding that Islamabad so desperately needs, according to a media article.The IMF team is currently visiting Pakistan for its third-round review of the country’s economy, ahead of the next tranche of funding. The team is looking closely at whether the economic decisions that Islamabad is taking meet the requirements that have been fixed by the multilateral lending…
Colombo, March 5 (IANS) China’s systematic undermining of Buddhist values in Sri Lanka reflects a calculated strategy aimed at embedding the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda into the spiritual and political life of the island nation. What seems like cultural diplomacy is actually ideological infiltration and Sri Lanka must navigate carefully to avoid trading its centuries-old Buddhist heritage at the expense of economic dependency, a report said on Thursday.“Sri Lanka, long celebrated as the c…
Kathmandu, March 4 (IANS) A day before Nepal goes to polls on Thursday, there is an air of anticipation that the mandate will give a clear majority to one party, that the government will be inclusive and democratic and work for the country’s progress, voicing a need for “change”. From sitting rooms to the streets of Kathmandu, the word echoes, though speakers attribute various reasons for seeking it. “Earlier, a lot of youngsters would not vote out of frustration that there were n…
Jhapa (Nepal), March 2 (IANS) Nepal’s Jhapa-5 constituency, lying close to the India border, is bustling with activity this Monday, but if elections are about blaring loudspeakers, street corner meetings, and aggressive street marches, the hullabaloo is comparatively less hours before campaign ends officially. Significantly, on March 5, Nepal’s former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli takes on formidable Gen Z icon Balendra Shah.Yet, in Damak, said to be among the oldest municipalities in Nepal…
New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) A multi-billion rupee Nepal project, a part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been dropped from election pledges by former Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who is contesting against former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in the latter’s bastion of Jhapa-5 constituency, reports said. Parliamentary election is scheduled in Nepal on March 5 under an interim government, which was constituted after the resignation of the Oli government facing widespread Gen Z …