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Blinken discusses Ukraine, US grant project in call with Nepal PM
The US secretary of state noted Nepal’s decision to ratify a controversial $500-million American grant project and highlighted 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Two days after Nepal’s parliament ratified a $500-million American grant project and a day after Nepal’s permanent representative to the United Nations took a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Tuesday (local time) spoke to Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, highlighting 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)-Nepal compact, signed in 2017, is aimed at helping Nepal build electricity transmission lines, but it has been mired in controversy due to political opposition in Kathmandu as well as China’s explicit opposition to the project.
In fact a state department spokesperson told HT earlier this month that China was behind a “misinformation” campaign around the project, and confirmed that the US had told Nepali leaders that the failure to ratify the project by February 28 would affect bilateral relations.
Deuba, who is known, in Nepali political circles, to have friendly ties with the US establishment ever since his first stint as PM back in 1995, took the lead in pushing the ratification of the project, despite opposition from his coalition partners, particularly Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”.
The MCC compact was ratified on Sunday with an interpretative declaration to allay apprehensions of critics that its provisions would supersede Nepal’s Constitution.
State department spokesperson Ned Price in a statement on Tuesday said that Blinken, in the call with Deuba, highlighted that this marked 75 years of diplomatic ties between the US and Nepal, and “noted” that Nepal’s decision to move forward with MCC would “allow electricity transmission and roads project to create jobs, infrastructure and improve the lives of” the people of Nepal.
The secretary also discussed “Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and premeditated attack on Ukraine and importance of respecting the UN charter’s principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states”, the statement said.
Deuba, in a post on Twitter, said that he discussed Nepal’s poverty alleviation, development and climate with Blinken, and told him that Nepal appreciates 75 years of US support to the country’s progress.
“We also discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and our support for Ukrainian sovereignty,” the Nepalese prime minister said.
Separately, chair of the US Senate foreign relations committee Robert Menendez on Tuesday (local time) applauded Nepal for its decision to ratify the grant project.
“I applaud Nepal’s parliament for approving a compact with the US Millennium Challenge Corporation. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the unwavering US commitment to building true partnerships in the region and to the prosperity of people of Nepal,” Menendez said in a post on Twitter.
