Implementation Of Belt And Road Initiative In Nepal-opportunities And Challenges

With the emergent renaissance of Asian continent as a whole,it is in dire need of air,land,inland water and sea connectivity which the Belt and Road Initiative(hereinafter referred to as BRI)exactly proposes.Especially for the landlocked countries of Central Asia and South Asian countries like Nepal,BRI provides transit facilities,the investment needed for infrastructural development and connectivity with rest of the world.BRI brings a lot of hope and excitement for the landlocked Himalayan economy of Nepal.Starting with the historical background of the Ancient Silk Road and Nepal's relation with Ancient Silk Road,this research also deals with the Sino-Nepal relationship and its impact on BRI in Nepal.This research thus aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges that BRI brings to Nepal.For this purpose,this thesis is divided into 5 chapters-introduction,Ancient Silk Road and its implication on Belt and Road Initiative,Nepal's situation of implementing BRI with special reference to Sino-Nepal relation,opportunities of BRI for Nepal,challenges of BRI for Nepal and finally conclusion has been given in the last chapter.For a least developed country like Nepal,BRI is seen as an opportunity that has never come before or might never come again.This is because this Himalayan landlocked economy has remained completely dependent on India for all its third country trade,has suffered a lot with this over-dependency on India and has a backward economy in dire need of modernization.However,in addition to widely pursued economic opportunities,there are also challenges like economic,political,environmental that Nepal can face.But these challenges has been neglected in Nepal's dream of economic prosperity and thus never been discussed properly.In addition,India's perception of BRI in Nepal as an encroachment to India's backyard makes BRI more challenging in Nepal.So,BRI does not only bring opportunities but also challenges to Nepal.This research thus also deals with possible friction between India and China over BRI in Nepal which might delay or even derail its implementation in Nepal.For this,a trilateral relation between China,Nepal,and India is proposed.Finally,this research concludes that despite the challenges Nepal might face during implementation of BRI,these challenges are not unsurmountable and can be dealt through bilateral negotiation between Nepal and China and/or through Nepal's domestic policies.