Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Rana’s Confidence

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba has returned home following a five-day visit to India. She maintains that her interaction with her Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has deepened the two nations' ties. It is apparent that Dr. Rana, who has taken on the duty of a highly sensitive ministry for the first time as a minister, is confident while meeting her counterpart or the head of the government. Dr. Rana appears confident and at ease in the images documented during the discussion, time, and meeting.

At the moment, Dr. Rana did not resemble a new minister in any way. This might be attributed to being an observer of over thirty years of government service. Three decades is an unusually long period of time in a person's life. She obtained valuable political expertise while assisting her husband, Sher Bahadur Deuba, who served as Prime Minister five times. Everyone is aware that her political credentials and expertise, in addition to her education, were not conferred by the Rana family's birth or descent. There is little question that being a pious wife to Deuba was sufficient to qualify for political office. We have no doubt that Dr. Rana believes in Nepal's interests based on her government experience.

Apart from a few exceptions, many people believe that when other Nepalese foreign ministers or prime ministers present their ideas, they are concerned about whether their personal interests, as well as the country's, would be preserved. If private interests are reflected or a weak spot is identified in the conversation, a country like Nepal will always be humiliated, and the Nepali people will be denied the ability to voice out.

Because Dr. Rana is part of a coalition government with the Nepali Congress and UML, the views of UML President and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli could be crucial. During the presentation of the invitation letter for the state visit from Prime Minister Oli to the Indian Prime Minister, there must have been a discussion regarding Nepal's welfare and affairs of mutual interest. Coincidentally, shortly after his meeting with Nepal's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Indian Prime Minister Modi headed for a visit to Poland and Ukraine, both of which are embroiled in war. An idea offered by Modi while addressing the Indian community in Poland on the first day is significant. Modi's first-day talk to the Indian community in Poland included a significant idea. He stated during the speech that the connection should be founded on proximity rather than distance. He said, “For decades, India's policy was to maintain equidistance from all countries. But today's India's policy is to maintain equal proximity to all the nations.” Its diplomatic significance will surely be evaluated.

However, he appears to regard the traditional concept of equidistance or geographic proximity as irrelevant. Friendship, rather than distance, is an unavoidable principle, and India favors it now. It is evident that Modi's statement is relevant not only for smaller neighboring nations like ours but also for the rest of the countries. Geographic proximity, ideological proximity, professional proximity, and cooperation all have an impact on equidistant diplomacy. Nepalese international relations scholars, diplomats, and diplomatic specialists will definitely delve into Modi's explanation. For the last five years, India has been surrounded by Bangladesh's instability and the failure of strategy and diplomacy in South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, and it is possible that India may begin to seek ideological proximity.

Dr. Arzu Rana has been the focus of several disputes both before and after becoming a minister, as well as after visiting India. Those who always swim in the pool of uncertainty, those who fail in political situations, and those who are always resistant to change appear to be actively opposing Dr. Arzu. It is not impossible to have several inquiries concerning Dr. Arzu. It is unclear whether such queries have been answered. However, bold leadership is currently required to improve Nepal-India ties. At the very least, two international airports in Nepal are now out of operation, and India's assistance is required to get them back into service.

Historically, India's constructive collaboration has been essential in the proper use of water, energy, power generation, and commercialization, all of which have been imprisoned in the chains of nationalist political games. There are several concerns that may be readily resolved, such as testing fruits and vegetables for pesticide prior to allowing them to be imported, granting customs duty incentives to Nepalese items, and so on. The border differences are significant. This conflict may be difficult to resolve at once by a single government. However, Nepal should not give up striving to protect its territory within its universal integrity based on historical truths. This issue should be settled by double D, i.e., diplomacy and dialogue, rather than actions in the streets. Let us expect that when Dr. Arzu Rana leads foreign affairs and KP Oli heads the strong government as Prime Minister, the adoption of Double D will be enhanced, and that, as Indian Prime Minister Modi has stated, Nepal will be experiencing proximity rather than equidistance.

This is a translated version of the editorial originally published on the Himalaya Times newspaper in Nepali.