Controversy in Nepal over China’s BRI project

A controversy has erupted in Nepal over Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu unilaterally declared that the Pokhara International Airport is a “flagship project of China-Nepal BRI cooperation”.At a time when Nepali and Chinese officials themselves admitted that not a single project under the BRI, the multi-billion dollar flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has been signed in Nepal under the BRI framework, a recent announcement made by the Chinese side in Kathmandu has courted a huge controversy.The airport was constructed upon a Chinese loan which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sunday but a sudden announcement made by the Embassy on the day of inauguration has created spirals of controversy in Kathmandu.A day ahead of the inauguration, the Embassy said: “This is the flagship project of China-Nepal BRI cooperation. Warmly congratulations to Nepali Gov and Nepali people!”On the day of the inauguration, the Charge d’Affaires Wang Xin said: ” 2023 is the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal of BRI Initiative. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, we will jointly build the trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, and let the BRI cooperation bear fruitful results.”According to Nepali media reports, Prime Minister Dahal on Wednesday also expressed concern over why and how this issue surfaced now.