Congress gave a written proposal to the Prime Minister to amend the document of BRI implementation plan sent by China, the working group of Congress and UML could not make a common opinion yet.

The ruling Congress and UML are yet to come to a consensus on the documents sent by China for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) implementation plan agreement. Although both parties are ready to revise the Chinese document, no consensus has been reached on what should be included in it. The two parties have agreed on the issue of only taking grants for projects within the BRI Framework.

The 10-page long implementation plan agreement document sent by China a few days ago contains sentences that have double meaning, the issue of security and strategic partners has been added, and some questions are such that no matter what the meaning and interpretation is, the Congress has proposed to amend it. Congress has sent the amendment points to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in writing. According to sources, Prime Minister Oli is discussing the interests and concerns of the Congress in parallel with the Chinese representatives.

An official of the Congress said that there would be no objection to signing if China accepts the concerns raised by the party. “There has been no progress since the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed on BRI in 2017. This time, if nothing happens during the Prime Minister’s visit, China wants the implementation plan to be signed with the aim of saying that Nepal has left the BRI. Prime Minister Oli is also in favor of agreeing on the implementation plan so that the relationship with China does not deteriorate,’ said the official.

Congress spokesperson Prakasharan Mahat, who was the finance minister at the time of signing the BRI MoU, said that the Congress had no objection to receiving subsidies on the basis of cooperation on connectivity, investment and technical issues mentioned in the MoU.. “There are no words in the document that have a double meaning, there is no room for different interpretations, based on the MoU, these projects will be within the framework of BRI and if it is subsidized, the Congress will not object to signing the implementation plan,” he said. We have been saying that the documents from there (China) should contain these things. There is a plan to give a concrete opinion to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister within one or two days. Then you will know how the reaction will be.’

Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba is scheduled to go to Beijing on Thursday to do homework on Prime Minister Oli’s visit and agenda. Before that, the agenda has to be finalized. The government formed a three-member working group to make a common opinion on the document sent by China. The working group consists of Prime Minister’s Political Advisor Vishnu Rimal from UML, Economic Advisor Yuvraj Khatiwada and General Minister Gagan Thapa from Congress.

In the suggestion sent by the Congress to Prime Minister Oli with technical assistance, it has been mentioned in a point-by-point manner that these topics should be amended in the draft proposed by China. It has been said that all topics related to security related strategic partnership should be removed.

Stating that the ruling party is clear about making a common opinion on BRI, Congress General Minister Thapa said that for this reason he will not go down in the alliance. The Prime Minister should be doing his job. The ministry is also doing its work. We are also discussing within the party,” said Thapa, who is also a member of the working group. “Whatever happens between the Congress and the UML, we will make a common opinion on it.”

Even within Congress, there is no consensus on whether to sign the BRI implementation plan. Some leaders have been saying that only one country has signed the BRI implementation plan so far and Nepal does not need to do so. Another type of leader is arguing that it can be signed based on the needs and interests of the country for a balanced relationship with the two neighbors. Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba also held a discussion on Tuesday morning to make a common opinion within the party and suggest to the government. He called a meeting of top leaders again on Wednesday.

‘There is nothing that cannot be done in cooperation between the two countries in the memorandum of understanding between Nepal and China in 2017. Everything can be done from there. It was tried to be rumored as an implementation plan agreement,” another Congress leader said, “We are in BRI. All the work China does with us is under BRI. We are ready to accept this. There is also an argument as to why other things became necessary when the two parties were able to work together.’

Nepal government spokesperson and Minister of Communication and Information Technology Prithvisubba Gurung also said that there will be no impact on the alliance because of BRI. He said that there is an agreement with the Congress on not taking loans for the BRI project. “We are ready to take grants but we will not take loans under any circumstances, even the government will not accept the BRI project as a loan under any circumstances,” he said at a program held in Kavre on Tuesday.

Source: Kantipur