Nepal does not compare ties with one country to another: Thapa

Amidst strains in Indo-Nepal ties, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa today said Nepal does not compare its relations with one country with that of the other and sought "cooperative and friendly" exchanges with both India and China.
"We do not compare our relations with one country with that of the other. Bases and factors determining friendship and cooperation different for each country and each bilateral relation is unique," said Thapa, who is also the Foreign Minister of Nepal.
"In neighbourhood, our consistent effort is to maintain cooperative and friendly relations with the two friendly neighbours-India and the People's Republic of China," he said.

In a briefing to the Kathmandu-based foreign diplomats on recent political developments that nearly toppled Prime Minister KP Oli's government, Thapa said both India and China were making tremendous progress in economic growth, infrastructure development, science and technology and in transforming life standards of their people.
"We are inspired by their progress. Situated between them, our legitimate desire is to benefit from their prosperity and this pragmatism is guiding our deep and comprehensive engagement with them," he said at the event attended by Oli.
"Finding fault alone will not help," Thapa told the envoys adding that "true partnership means support, solidarity and appreciation of what has been gained and encouragement for continuous improvement."

He also talked about the Madhesi agitation that claimed the lives of more than 50 people and crippled the economy of the landlocked country for months, creating a shortage of essential goods and also soured Indo-Nepal ties.

The Madhesi-led blockade of all trading points with India, however, ended unexpectedly in February just before Oli's maiden visit to India without any political agreement.
Nepal had accused India of imposing an "economic blockade", which India strongly denied.
Thapa said in the past few months "the uneasy situation at Nepal-India border points have been resolved and trade, transit and supplies have been normalised."

Talking about the new Constitution, which has been opposed by Madhesis, Thapa said there was a perception that the constitution was not complete, inclusive and broad-based.
"The fact of the matter is that critics have either not studied the Constitution fully or they do not want to assess its content fairly and objectively."
"Concrete measures have been devised to promote inclusive representation in all levels of governance," he stressed and said the government's focus was now on its implementation.
He said the achievements Nepal has made so far "in empowering people, institutionalising democracy and promoting an inclusive society have not been an easy take."

"We do not want to lose this time what we have gained," he said.