The development of cooperation between Beijing and Kathmandu should not "be a topic of suspicion" for New Delhi due to the exceptional depth of Nepal-India ties, Nepalese Ambassador to India Nilambar Acharya told Sputnik in an interview on Monday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2019) The development of cooperation between Beijing and Kathmandu should not "be a topic of suspicion" for New Delhi due to the exceptional depth of Nepal-India ties, Nepalese Ambassador to India Nilambar Acharya told Sputnik in an interview on Monday.Earlier in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to India for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and afterward headed to Nepal, which marked his first visit to a landlocked country in the Himalayas in 23 years. According to Beijing, Xi's trip to the neighboring countries was designed to give a new impetus to the development of China's relationship with India, Nepal and South Asia as a whole and open up new opportunities for enhancing cooperation in the region.
"With India we have very, very extensive relations. With northern neighbor [China] we have been developing our cooperation. But India should not worry about relations with China. Because with India we have so vast, close and open relations that any relations with other countries cannot come in the way of developing our relation with India ... In the present day, if one country develops relations with other countries, mingles with them, it should not be a topic of suspicion," Acharya said, answering a question on whether the rapprochement of China and Nepal could be a point of concern for India.
The ambassador stressed that any possible concerns related to the development of ties between Beijing and Kathmandu would be groundless, as Nepal was seeking to develop relations and increase connectivity with many countries in the world.
"Nepal has relation with so many countries and with China also we have relations and cooperation. With India, in every sector we have close relations and we will develop our relations. So, these concerns are not well-founded," the ambassador noted.
India and China have disputes in the Kashmir region and near the so-called McMahon Line between the Tibetan region of China and the northeastern part of India. The current demarcation line was drawn after the 1962 Sino-Indian War. The two countries regularly hold consultations to maintain peace on their border and avoid mutual provocations.
