‘US welcomes Nepal having good relations with all its neighbors’

KATHMANDU: A US diplomat has said the US will wholeheartedly welcome Nepal’s relations with both its neighbors India and China.

Wrapping up her two-day Nepal visit, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said it will be easier for Nepal to get development assistance if Nepal puts relations with its two big neighbors in  priority. She also said Nepal should never undermine its sovereignty while seeking financial assistance from other countries.

Stating that Nepal is one of the oldest countries in the region with which the US established diplomatic ties, Nuland said the US welcomes Nepal having good relations with all of its neighbors. “We obviously have very strong relationships with India. You saw that with regard to China, President Biden and President Xi Jinping sat down together in November, and we will have more engagement with China in coming weeks,” she said, adding: “So it’s not about one or the other. It is about what’s good for Nepali democracy, Nepali prosperity.”

According to Nuland, she discussed issues like the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), transitional justice etc with the Nepali leaders. “We talked about the next steps in finalizing our MCC project. Likewise, we talked about the plan of the government to submit legislation to the parliament to finalize the transitional justice process and what the United States might be able to do to support implementation thereafter,” she said, adding that discussions also focused on ways to strengthen the climate for investment and international business in Nepal.

She also said the US was eager to work with the new government. “It was important to us to come to Kathmandu so early in the new government’s term, in order to plot a course forward together. And in order to talk about the projects that we can do together to strengthen democracy in Nepal and to strengthen our partnership on global issues,” she added.

Referring to the recent cyber attacks on the Nepal government server, Nuland said the US was ready to help Nepal to prevent such attacks in the future. “The United States has strong partnerships around the world in strengthening cybersecurity. I offered the government the US will be pleased to come and bring some of its technical specialists to look at what happened here and help Nepal harden its systems,” she added.

During her visit, Nuland met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Bimala Rai Poudyal, as well as Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.