Nepal is likely to reassure Indian companies investing in the Himalayan country that they will not face attacks or labour problems in the future. As Baburam Bhattarai arrives here tomorrow for the first time as the prime minister of his land-locked nation, New Delhi believes that the most important part of his visit, though, will be to firm up a quiet cooperation Kathmandu’s intelligence and home departments has been extending to India.
The India-Nepal border is open and one of the most porous boundaries between any two countries in the world — in fact, next only to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. That feature has made it a favoured route for not just arms smuggling but also fake Indian currency.
Against this backdrop, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday outlined the extent of the problem. Speaking at the Economic Editors’ conference here, he said Nepal had been one of the most important routes to smuggle in fake currency into India. “Infusing fake currency is one of the instruments to destabilise the economy of a country,” he noted. Therefore, this aspect needs to be kept in view. It is a constant battle. We will have to resist and fight this.”
Sources in the home ministry say this is a major problem; but one the government has been able to tackle most successfully because the home departments of Nepal and India enjoy a high degree of cooperation. Even on Wednesday, Mukherjee alluded to this work-in-tandem culture.
After the hijacking of the Indian airlines aircraft some years ago, Nepal had put in place some new security systems. But even these were deemed to be insufficient. Last year, India offered, at its own cost, to refurbish the entire security apparatus for Tribhuvan International Airport. The matter was cleared by the home ministry, but the proposal was rejected when it went to the Nepal Cabinet.
Intelligence from Nepal has preventing some major mishaps, home ministry sources said. The two nations share secret information freely and generously, they added.
In Kathmandu, Bhattarai made the customary call on President Ram Baran Yadav and explained that the focus of his upcoming visit would be an economic agenda and bilateral cooperation rather than political issues. Yadav reportedly expressed confidence that the prime minister’s trip would help further enhance and consolidate the ties between the two neighbours.
Earlier this week, Bhattarai held meetings with various political parties. There, ahead of his visit to India, he was advised against signing any agreement that could have a long-term impact on the Nepal-India ties. They especially asked him not to sign treaties related to extradition and air marshal agreement that are controversial political issues.
