Nepal wants rail link with India and China

Nepal intends to develop new connectivity with India and China for smooth flow of trade.
Former Nepalese foreign minister Prakash C Lohani said in New Delhi on Wednesday that since Nepal was the connecting country between the Asian giants, it saw great opportunities for trade in both India and China.
His comments coincided with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s arrival in New Delhi on a three-day visit.

Lohani said there was a proposal before the Nepalese government for developing a trans-Himalayan rail link connecting India and China through Nepal. This way, north and north-eastern states could also be better accessed and the $60-billion Sino-Indian trade furthered, he said.

Lohani said a model for cooperation to use Himalayan water resources in the best possible way was also in the pipeline.
“Water is going to be a big issue in the region. With India growing so fast, it requires
a lot of water,” he said, adding that “Nepal would be sensitive to the minimum national
interests of both China and India”.

Lohani, who belongs to Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP), said a rail link would immensely benefit all the three countries, especially India and China.

He said India and China, in consultation with the international community, should make it clear to parties in Nepal that leading the state through constitutional means was the only acceptable route to power, not street revolution to “capture the state” as advocated by Maoists.