</s>KATHMANDU: China and Nepal began their first-ever joint military exercises on Sunday, a move likely to rattle India as Beijing boosts its influence in the region.

Impoverished Nepal is sandwiched between China and India and has in recent years ping-ponged between the sphere of influence of Delhi and Beijing as the Asian giants jostle for regional supremacy.

The 10-day drill in Kathmandu, dubbed “Sagarmatha Friendship 2017” referring to the Nepali name for Mount Everest, will focus on counter-terrorism, according to Nepal’s army.

“This is in line with our efforts to hold joint exercises with countries that have diplomatic relations with Nepal,” military spokesman Jhankar Bahadur Kadayat told AFP.

The drills will likely be watched closely by India, which is often accused of playing “big brother” to its tiny neighbor.

Landlocked Nepal remains dependent on India for the majority of its imports, but the previous administration aggressively courted China as part of a nationalist drive to decrease the country’s reliance on New Delhi.

“Nepal and China share a multi-faceted tie and a joint military exercise broadens that relationship,” said Tanka Karki, former Nepali ambassador to China.

Last month China’s defence minister Chang Wanquan visited Nepal—the first by a Chinese defense minister in 15 years—to discuss the joint military exercise.

The current Maoist-led government in Nepal has sought to repair strained ties with Delhi while continuing to accept cash from its powerful northern neighbour.</s>China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan (L) is escorted by Nepalese officials after his arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu on March 23, 2017 (AFP Photo/Prakash MATHEMA)

China and Nepal began their first-ever joint military exercises on Sunday, a move likely to rattle India as Beijing boosts its influence in the region.

Impoverished Nepal is sandwiched between China and India and has in recent years ping-ponged between the sphere of influence of Delhi and Beijing as the Asian giants jostle for regional supremacy.

The 10-day drill in Kathmandu, dubbed "Sagarmatha Friendship 2017" referring to the Nepali name for Mount Everest, will focus on counter-terrorism, according to Nepal's army.

"This is in line with our efforts to hold joint exercises with countries that have diplomatic relations with Nepal," military spokesman Jhankar Bahadur Kadayat told AFP.

The drills will likely be watched closely by India, which is often accused of playing "big brother" to its tiny neighbour.

Landlocked Nepal remains dependent on India for the majority of its imports, but the previous administration aggressively courted China as part of a nationalist drive to decrease the country's reliance on New Delhi.

"Nepal and China share a multi-faceted tie and a joint military exercise broadens that relationship," said Tanka Karki, former Nepali ambassador to China.

Last month China's defence minister Chang Wanquan visited Nepal -- the first by a Chinese defence minister in 15 years -- to discuss the joint military exercise.

The current Maoist-led government in Nepal has sought to repair strained ties with Delhi while continuing to accept cash from its powerful northern neighbour.

China has lavished grand infrastructure promises on Nepal, including recently pledging $8.3 billion in investment -- equivalent to nearly to 40 percent of its entire GDP.</s>Kathmandu: Nepal and China on Sunday began their first-ever joint military exercise with a special focus on combating terror, a move that could make India uneasy.

The 10-day-long military drill "Sagarmatha Friendship 2017" that will last till April 25 is being organised by the two countries as part of their preparedness against terrorism that has posed as a serious security threat globally, the Nepal Army said.

Sagarmatha is the Nepali name of Mt Everest, the world's highest peak.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army's squad has already arrived in the capital to participate in the military exercise that will focus on counter terrorism and disaster response, it said.

The joint training with China marks Nepal Army's extension of military diplomacy. The Nepal Army has long been conducting joint military drills with Indian and American Army.

"A small Chinese troop will be participating in the first ever drill with an equal number of Nepali Army personnel," said military spokesman Jhankar Bahadur Kadayat.

He did not mention the strength of the participating troops. The exercise will take place at the Army's Maharajgunj-based Training School, where Yuddha Bhairab, Mahabir and Bhairabnath Battalions are located.

The Nepali Army has said the joint military exercise with China is a step towards preparations against the possible threat from terrorism.

It maintains that the drill is a part of its regular bilateral and multilateral military exercises aimed at sharing experiences, skills and professional knowledge which it has been doing regularly with the nations that Nepal shares diplomatic ties.

Nepal had proposed joint military exercises during Chinese Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan's official visit to Nepal on March 24.

Experts believe that the joint military exercise could make India uneasy as China attempts to exert influence in the region. Nepal, a landlocked country, is dependent on India for its imports.

Nepal had witnessed a shortage in essential supplies from India during the 2015 Madhesi blockade. China at that time had extended its help to Nepal to ease the situation.</s>The first ever Nepal-China joint military drill began on Sunday at Nepal Army’s Para Training School Maharajgunj in Kathmandu.

The People’s Liberation Army’s squad is taking part in ‘Sagarmatha Friendship-2017’, which will focus on counter-terrorism and disaster response. The 10-day exercise will conclude on April 25.

Though Nepal and China were planning a large-scale military exercise, the strong opposition from India, given its special diplomatic and military ties with Nepal, forced Kathmandu to limit the scope of the exercise, sources said. “We hope such joint military exercise would help Nepal and Chinese Armies to boost their professional capabilities,” the Nepal Army said.

While highlighting the historic ties between Nepal and Chinese armies, Colonel Yang Shumeng who is leading the PLA in the exercise, said such exercises would help understanding on counter-terrorism and strengthen military-to-military relations.

The joint training with China marks Nepali Army’s extension of military diplomacy. It has in the past conducted similar drills with Indian and US armies.

The army said the drill is a step towards preparing for possible terror threats.

The national defence forces from the two countries has increased their engagement of late. On February 19, Major General Zhao Jinsong of the western command of the PLA was in Nepal on a three-day visit. That was followed by a visit by defence minister Chang Wanquan in the third week of March. Chang had announced 300 million Yuan (Rs4.5 billion) of military aid to the Nepal Army.</s>The 10-day drill in Kathmandu, dubbed "Sagarmatha Friendship 2017" referring to the Nepali name for Mount Everest, will focus on counter-terrorism, according to Nepal's army. The drills will likely be watched closely by India.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Times of India.</s>The first ever joint military drill between Nepal and China — Sagarmatha Friendship-2017 — kicked off at Nepal Army’s Para Training School in Maharajgunj here on Sunday.

The Chinese Army’s squad is participating in the military exercise that will focus on counter terrorism and disaster response. The 10-day exercise will conclude on April 25.

Though Nepal and China were planning a big-scale military exercise, the strong opposition from New Delhi given its special diplomatic and military ties with Kathmandu has forced Kathmandu to limit the size and nature of the drill, sources said.

“We hope that such joint military exercise would help the Nepali and Chinese armies to boost their professional capabilities,” Gen. Shrestha said.

Highlighting the historic ties between Nepali and Chinese armies, Colonel Yang Shumeng, leading the Chinese side, said such exercise would help understanding on counter terrorism and strengthening military ties.

The joint training with China marks the Nepali Army’s extension of military diplomacy.

The army has long been conducting joint military drills with the Indian and US armies.

A small Chinese troop contingent will be participating in the first ever drill with an equal number of Nepal Army personnel whereas it was earlier planned at battalion-level.

The exercise is taking place at the Maharajgunj-based training school where Yuddha Bhairab, Mahabir and Bhairabnath Battalions are located.

Initially it was planned outside Kathmandu.

The country’s army said the military exercise with China was a step towards preparations against the possible threat from terrorism.

The Nepal Army maintained that the drill was part of its regular bilateral and multilateral military exercises aimed at sharing experiences, skills and professional knowledge which it has been doing regularly with the nations that Nepal shares diplomatic ties with.

The national defence forces from the two countries have increased their engagement of late.

On February 19, Major General Zhao Jinsong of the western command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was in Nepal on a three-day visit.

This was followed by a visit by Defence Minister and State Councillor Chang Wanquan in March. Chang had announced 300 million Yuan (Rs 4.5 billion) in military aid to Nepal.</s>Under the agreement, India will help develop Nepal's vast but underexploited hydropower potential and buy electricity to help tackle its own energy shortages. The agreement commits both countries to buy and sell electricity during times of shortages.

Nepal is estimated to have the potential to generate as much as 42,000 megawatts of electricity by harnessing the power of its rivers, but it has installed capacity of just over 800 MW and suffers blackouts for up to 18 hours a day.

"It will create a very good atmosphere for investment in Nepal as it will give confidence among investors that they will be able to sell electricity in the Indian market," Nepal's Energy Minister Radha Gyawali said."Investors who were earlier reluctant to put money in Nepal are now saying that they were encouraged by the prospects of selling electricity to India," she said.

India has been keen to re-assert influence among smaller neighbours where China has been forging closer ties, and the agreement follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in August.Last month Indian company GMR Group and Nepal signed a $1.5 billion deal to build the 900 megawatt Upper Karnali hydroelectric plant in the northwest of the country, the single largest foreign investment scheme in Nepal.China, which has built small hydropower plants for Nepal, is also in talks to build large-scale hydropower plants.The power trade agreement with India will initially help Nepal to import electricity to meet domestic shortages.

India could start buying power from Nepal once the GMR plant starts generation in 2021 and Kathmandu is generating enough electricity to meet domestic demand, officials in Nepal said.The export of power could help Nepal's trade deficit. According to state-run Trade and Export Promotion Centre, Nepal's deficit with India stood at $4 billion in 2013, up from $3.1 billion a year earlier.</s>Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari will arrive in Delhi on a five-day visit beginning today. This is her first overseas tour during which she will hold talks with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen bilateral ties. The visit is taking place even as Nepal and China yesterday began their first-ever joint military exercise with a special focus on combating terror, a move that could make India uneasy. It has been learned that the visit aims at exploring ways to expand cooperation between India and Nepal whose ties faced some strain following the agitation by the Madhesi community last year.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will call on the Nepalese President.

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Bhandari was scheduled to visit India in May last year, but the trip was cancelled after the then cabinet did not endorse the visit programme, citing lack of preparations on the part of the government.

The bilateral ties between the two countries had faced turbulence last year due to the Madhesi agitation and the subsequent blockade which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, had been demanding that the new Constitution be amended to include their concerns about adequate political representation and redrawing of federal boundaries.

It will be Bhandari’s first state visit abroad after assuming the charge of the high office in October 2015. She will be staying at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. A high-level delegation comprising several ministers, MPs and senior officials will be accompanying her.

“Her visit will reflect the priority that India attaches to further strengthening the age-old and unique partnership with Nepal, shared cultural and historical linkages, and strong people-to-people relationship,” MEA’s Joint Secretary (North) Sudhakar Dalela said at a press conference today.

He further said, “It is a special goodwill visit and we hope this will help further cement our ties. The visit would also give us an excellent opportunity to review all aspects of our wide-ranging partnership with Nepal.”

On April 18, she will also attend a business event being organised by industry chambers CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM.

“The president will host a banquet in her honour on April 18. She will later visit Gujarat and Odisha and pay obeisance at temples of Dwarka, Somnath and Puri,” Dalela said.

In Delhi, she would also visit the Yamuna Biodiversity Park here.

Emphasising the importance of the visit, the senior MEA official said it comes in the backdrop of “intensified bilateral engagements”. President Pranab Mukherjee had also visited Nepal in November.

These exchanges have been “immensely useful” in ensuring steady progress in co-operative ties across diverse sectors, such as trade, economic investment, water resources, energy sector including power trading, defence and security, oil and gas sector, culture and more importantly, people to people ties, Dalela added.

“At the same time, we have maintained our focus on implementation of ongoing connectivity and development projects, such as tarai roads, cross-border rail linkages, development of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs), cross-border oil pipelines and transmission lines.

“Also, the bilateral oversight mechanism set up last October to monitor and expedite implementation of ongoing projects has met three times already, and has been extremely helpful in addressing related issues on both sides,” he said.

Dalela said the energy cooperation between the two countries is “witnessing a new high”, especially in the backdrop of the India’s approval of the Rs 5,720-crore hydro power project (Arun-III) to be set up in Nepal.

“India supplies 350 MW electricity to Nepal. And their government has proposed 16 road and bridge projects worth USD 300 million under the line of credit of USD 550 million, which we have agreed to and we look forward to its completion in the coming months,” he said.

Later, responding to a question on the post-demonetisation effect in Nepal, where Indian currency is accepted, he only said, “The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and RBI are still in consultation” to smoothen out issues that may have arisen.</s>This is the first state visit of the President of Nepal after assuming office of the President in October 2015.

New Delhi: At a time when Nepal is conducting a joint military drill with China, India is pulling out all stops to welcome Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who will be visiting India on a five-day visit from Monday. The Nepalese President will also visit the Dwarka and Somnath Temples in Gujarat and the Jagannath Temple in Puri. This is her first state visit abroad after assuming the office in October 2015. She is visiting at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee.

“A high-level delegation comprising minister, MPs and senior officials will be accompanying her. Her visit will reflect the priority that India attaches to further strengthening the age-old and unique partnership with Nepal, shared cultural and historical linkages and strong people-and-people relationship,” joint secretary (north) in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Sudhakar Dalela said on Sunday.

She will meet President Mukherjee, vice-president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and other leaders, he said at an MEA briefing.

“The President will host a banquet in her honour on April 18. She will also visit Gujarat and Odisha and pay obeisance at temples of Dwarka, Somnath and Puri,” Mr Dalela said.

Ms Bhandari was scheduled to visit India in May last year, but it was cancelled after the then cabinet in Nepal did not endorse the programme citing lack of preparations on the part of the government, according to news agency reports. The bilateral ties had faced turbulence last year due to the Madhesi agitation and subsequent blockade by the Madhesi demonstrators which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

The MEA had recently said, “Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal will be visiting India on a state visit from April 17-21, 2017, at the invitation of President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.

This is the first state visit of the President of Nepal after assuming office of the President in October 2015. The upcoming visit reflects the priority that both India and Nepal attach to further strengthening of their age-old, unique, wide-ranging partnership, underpinned by shared historical and cultural linkages and strong people-to-people connections.’

The MEA had added, “During the visit, the President of Nepal will meet with the President of India, vice-president and the Prime Minister. The external affairs minister and other ministers will call on the President of Nepal. Apart from official engagements in New Delhi, the President of Nepal will be visiting Gujarat and Odisha. The upcoming visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, and will further deepen the cordial and cooperative ties that exist between India and Nepal.”
In a move likely to cause concern in India, China and Nepal commenced last Sunday the first ever combined military exercises, focusing on counter-terror operations.