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After fighting an ultranationalist election campaign where he criticised India for interference in Nepali politics, a victorious Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, arrives in Delhi on Friday.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Mr. Oli says the bitterness of past relations, including over the 2015 economic blockade at the India-Nepal border, and growing ties with China, have been put behind them, and India and Nepal must work towards a new, more equal relationship.
You last visited India as Prime Minister in 2016… what are your expectations from this visit, and how will it be different?
The situation before my visit is different this time. At that time because of differences over the constitution, and because of some elements in Nepal, we had misunderstandings. But now, the constitution has been promulgated for two and a half years and we have had elections at all levels. Our government is elected by all, and we have a strong majority. We won the confidence vote in parliament by 88% of the votes. Many thought the Madhesi parties would not support me, but they also supported me. And even those MPs in the opposition, they would have voted for me, but for the party system.
In terms of our expectations from this visit, I want to make it clear. The starting point of our neighbourhood policy is friendship. If you say tell me three things Nepal needs from India, I would say, the first is friendship, the second is friendship and the third is also friendship. We have completed our political struggle, but now there is a new phase, of Nepal’s struggle for development and prosperity.
You said this in parliament on Tuesday. But you also said, you will not sign any treaty against Nepal’s interest — what did you mean by that? Does this represent a suspicion of India’s motives? Has the bitterness of the past been put behind us?
No. The history, size, levels of population and development are different between our two countries. And our differences reflect that. I said I won’t sign anything against the interest of the nation because that is a fact. There are such treaties that need to be corrected and updated according to the present time needs of the Nepali people and mutual interests, and for mutual respect. Many years ago, I used to speak about revising the 1950s treaty, and people would question me. a