Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s one day visit to Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and his acknowledgement that Lumbini was Buddha`s birthplace has been a huge sentiment booster in the Himalayan nation. This was Modi`s fifth visit to Nepal. While Modi in his address to the Nepalese Parliament during his first trip to Kathmandu, acknowledged that Lumbini was the Buddha`s birthplace, the recent visit during this 2566th birth anniversary of the Buddha has buried this ghost forever, the Himalayan Times said. The visit and the outcome are being closely monitored by China.
Beijing based news organisation Global Times said that Modi`s visit to Nepal is aimed at exerting soft power. Modi has underlined the need to boost connectivity in South Asia under his Neighbourhood Policy.Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University told the newspaper that Modi in his second term has attached greater importance to building ties with neighbouring countries, pushing forward India-Nepal relations to a new height. China has never opposed India and Nepal establishing closer relations, and we hope that China and India, the two major powers neighbouring Nepal, can join hands and take the responsibility to help our neighbour in terms of infrastructure and disaster relief’, Global Times quoted Qian as saying.
Most foreign policy watchers have said that Modi`s visit could be a game-changer in India-Nepal relations. They also said that the visit will put Lumbini on the global map. Last month, Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba visited India just after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi`s visit to New Delhi and Kathmandu. Wang`s Nepal visit failed to create any significant impact. Though a host of agreements between Nepal and China were signed in the presence of Wang but according to analysts, those were more customary in nature.