By a staff reporter

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala returned home Sunday after a week-long visit to India. On his arrival back home, Prime Minister Koirala said he was fully satisfied with the visit and that he has brought back goodwill of the Indian government and the people.

Considering the situation at home and the chill that had shrouded relations between the two countries especially in the last 7 months, Koirala’s visit was a difficult one. So, the biggest challenge before Koirala was whether he would be able to clear the clouds of mistrust and misunderstanding. If one looks at the visit objectively, then Koirala accomplished what he had intended.

After coming back, Prime Minister Koirala said at a press conference at the Tribhuvan International Airport that the visit has ended the confusion and misunderstanding between the two countries. That should be a biggest achievement of Koirala.

Before the visit Koirala had been saying that he was going to India without any specific agenda, but to discuss Nepal’s relations with India in totality, and to urge India to mould our relations according to changing times and new global realities.

A big achievement of the visit is, undoubtedly, the opening of the doors for dialogue and discussion on bilateral issues several issues.

In this context, the two governments have agreed to have the first meeting of the revived ministerial-level joint commission within six months. For this the Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh will be visiting Kathmandu.

According to the joint press statement, released after Koirala’s talks with the Indian government, the joint-commission will act as an umbrella body to oversee the entire of bilateral relations and provide directives on measures to further strengthen them.

Meanwhile, one of the thorniest issue between the two countries is the boundary demarcation, including that of Kalapani.

The two leaders have now directed the Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee to complete its field work by 2001-2002 and the final preparation of the strip maps by 2003. It has also been directed the Joint Working Group of the Boundary Committee to expeditiously complete the examination of the facts related to the alignment of the boundary in several pockets of western sector, including Kalapani, where there are differences in perceptions of the two sides.

Similarly, on the 1950 Treaty, which Nepal has been wanting to be reviewed,  the two Prime Ministers have directed the foreign secretaries to undertake a review of all issues pertaining to the treaty. The Foreign Secretaries would meet within six months.

During the visit, the two sides also agreed to forge cooperation in various other sectors, including trade, transit and other aspects of economic cooperation, including in  hydropower.

In hydropower, yet another joint committee will be set up at the Secretary level and it would discuss all issues related to water resources including the implementation of the existing agreements and understandings.

Prime Minister Koirala also said the issue of the Laxmanpur barrage would be dealt with on-the-spot inspection, and India has assured that any such  projects will be undertaken in the future only  after consultations with Nepal.

It might be mentioned that the Nepalese parliamentary committee and the opposition parties have demanded that the Laxmanpur barrage and the embankment be pulled down because it was constructed so near the Nepalese border and that it had caused several villages of Nepalese to be flooded by checking the natural flow of water.

Although the Prime Minister has come back with only one package of the abolition of the four per cent special addition duty imposed on Nepalese exports to India, it can be believed that the visit has succeeded in bringing the relations between the two countries ‘back to the track’.

Meanwhile, discontent has immediately cropped up over the ‘lifting’ up of the government’s emission standard for Indian vehicles. Under an understanding reached during the visit, Nepal will accept the emission level of the Indian vehicle imported into Nepal according to the type approval of the manufacturers.

Nonetheless, it may be said that Koirala has succeeded in his mission to warm up the chill and resume consultations and dialogue with India, but the real achievement will come only if the problems that have been seen in the relations between the two countries. For this, what is needed is India cooperation more than Nepal’s willingness to see its relations with India benefit both the countries.