US believes China behind delay of $500m grant project in Nepal

The United States believes that China has been “actively triggering or encouraged or played” Disinformation campaigns in Nepal against US $ 500 million dollar grant projects, and has warned Nepal that failure to meet or hold its commitment to the US 28 February will have an impact on bilateral relationships as- Nepal, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. The US also said it would also be “very disappointing” if “outside influence and corruption” caused a failure to ratify the project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) -Nepal Compact, signed in 2017, focused on increasing electricity supply, enabling cross-border electricity trading between India and Nepal through transmission lines, and road maintenance.

Five years since it was signed, regardless of what the US said had repeatedly guarantees from all Nepalese political parties, the Nepal Parliament had not ratified compact. Criticism from compact in Nepal saw it as part of the US Indo-Pacific military strategy – a lot of narrative in Washington saw has been driven by China – while the US has repeatedly clarified that the project did not have military components, ahead of the evolution of the Indo-Pacific strategy, and initiated at the request of the Government of Nepal, with the support of all Nepalese parties Last week, The Kathmandu Post reported that the assistant US assistant to the southern state and Central Asia Donald Lu had warned the main leaders of Nepal – Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, his coalition partner Maoist Chairman Pushpa Dahal “Prachanda”, and opposition leader KP Sharma Oil – About the implications of delay. But this is the first time Washington has articulated, in the most explicit requirements, how he saw the late Kathmandu in ratifying the grant project and its impact.

The role of “outside influence” When asked about the position of the US about the political controversy around MCC in Nepal, a spokesman for the State Department said, “Is the Nepal government ratifying the MCC electricity transmission project is a sovereign decision for Nepal to make … if it does not affect and corruption to ratify, will Very alarming for the US, and losses for the Nepalese community A spokesman confirmed that the US had categorically asked Nepal to decide on February 28 – showing that this was the time period of PM Deuba and Prachanda had requested in their letter to MCC back in September 2021 to “fulfill their commitment to MCC” “February 28 will be a conclusion of the five-month period, at that time compact must be ratified or rejected,” said the spokesman.

Asked specifically if the US believes that propaganda against the MCC in Nepal has “moved or funded or driven or facilitated, or above, by China”, said the spokesman, “Yes. We have been worried about the disinformation campaign around the MCC Compact, Because we are worried about disinformation everywhere. If external influences or corruption have affected parliamentary actions to vote for this electricity transmission project, it will be very disappointing and losses for the Nepalese society. When asked whether the US told Nepal’s leadership that the failure to ratify MCC would have implications for broader US-nepal relations, including bilateral assistance and support through other multilateral institutions, said a spokesman, “The Nepalese government to fulfill, or renege to its commitment to the US It will have an impact on diplomatic bilateral relations. If external influences and corruption have caused a decision not to ratify, it will be very concerned for the US and losses for the Nepalese society. “

Referring to this year to be the 75th year of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the US, and said that the US has been established with Nepalese people through the aid for development and old foreign assistants

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