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President, Premier exchange greetings with Nepali counterparts on anniversary of bilateral ties

China and Nepal have always treated each other as “equals”, said Chinese President Xi Jinping as he and Premier Li Keqiang exchanged greetings with their Nepali counterparts, President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister K.P. Oli, on the anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries on Saturday.

Historic visit: President Xi Jinping with Nepali counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu in 2019. | Photo Credit: Reuters

“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 65 years ago, the [China and Nepal] have always respected and treated each other as equals, enhanced political mutual trust, and deepened mutually beneficial cooperation,” said a translated version of Mr. Xi’s statement issued by the Chinese MFA.

‘A shared future’

The MFA also quoted from a letter that Nepal’s President Bhandari had sent Mr. Xi in which she welcomed China’s moves to “build a community with a shared future for mankind” and committed to cooperating in their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects that include several tunnels, a railway line from Tibet and power projects in Nepal.

The comments followed a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, criticising countries for offering “development partnerships that became dependence partnerships”, in what was widely regarded as a dig at China for its BRI projects that have resulted in heavy debts for countries in the region.

Foreign Ministers’ meet

The statements also followed the meeting of Foreign Ministers this week of a potentially new formation that brought Nepal into a quadrilateral arrangement with China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The meeting on Monday was ostensibly convened by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss cooperation on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, but also discussed China’s plans for a “trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network”, something New Delhi has reportedly looked askance at.

When asked, Nepal’s Ambassador to India Nilamber Acharya denied the meeting should be a matter of concern for India-Nepal ties.

“We are all concerned about the pandemic, as immediate neighbours, and we should not interpret anything beyond that [in the quadrilateral meeting]. India is also cooperating with China despite the difficulties between them,” Mr. Acharya told The Hindu.

However, former diplomat Vivek Katju said the attempt to rope in three members of the SAARC grouping, without including India, was a “provocative” move by China. The MEA did not respond to a question on whether India had been invited to join the meeting, or if it had protested the quadrilateral discussions with the governments in Kathmandu or Kabul. “That the Chinese are making a concrete strategic foray in South Asia which will necessarily impact on our interests. This is a provocative move, and should be seen as a message,” Mr. Katju said.

The quadrilateral meeting came on the heels of deepening concerns over the India-Nepal relationship, including Nepal’s decision to include disputed areas like Kalapani into a new map, followed by Mr. Oli’s accusation that India was trying to destablise his government, coupled with reports that the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal was brokering a political settlement between Mr. Oli and rival factions in the ruling party.

In 2019, after his trip to India, Mr. Xi had travelled to Nepal, the first such visit by a Chinese President. The two sides had signed 18 agreements and two MoUs on infrastructure projects to build on an eight-point connectivity and transit trade agreement signed in 2016.

With inputs from The Hindu

The WHO has been sharply criticised for the length of time it took to declare an international emergency.

AFP

The WHO said on Friday that coronavirus pandemic effects would be felt for decades as its emergency committee assessed the situation six months after sounding its top alarm over the outbreak.

The novel coronavirus has killed nearly 675,000 people and infected at least 17.3 million since it emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The World Health Organization’s emergency committee, comprising 18 members and 12 advisers, is meeting for the fourth time over the COVID-19 crisis.

“It’s sobering to think that six months ago, when you recommended I declare a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), there were less than 100 cases and no deaths outside China.” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as the meeting began.

“The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come.”

The committee can propose new recommendations or amend existing ones.

However, there is little doubt that the WHO will maintain the pandemic’s status as a PHEIC — its highest level of alarm — first declared on January 30.

The WHO has been sharply criticised for the length of time it took to declare an international emergency.

The United States, which accused the organisation of being too close to China, officially began its withdrawal from the organisation in July.

The agency has also been criticised for recommendations deemed late or contradictory, in particular on wearing masks, or the modes of transmission of the virus.

Questions unanswered

“Many scientific questions have been resolved; many remain to be answered,” Tedros said.

“Early results from serology studies are painting a consistent picture: most of the world’s people remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced severe outbreaks.

“Many countries that believed they were past the worst are now grappling with new outbreaks. Some that were less affected in the earliest weeks are now seeing escalating numbers of cases and deaths. And some that had large outbreaks have brought them under control.”

The highly restrictive lockdowns enforced to deal with the pandemic earlier this year caused economic turmoil and an effective vaccine may be the only long-term solution to the highly contagious respiratory disease.

“Although vaccine development is happening at record speed, we must learn to live with this virus, and we must fight it with the tools we have,” said Tedros.