India and Nepal restore rail links

On Saturday, India and Nepal resumed passenger rail service between them, while China continues to court Kathmandu.

Nepal has always played a balancing act between New Delhi and Beijing, but observers fear that Indian influence over Kathmandu is fading as China pours money into the landlocked Himalayan country.

Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, on the other hand, has made India his first international destination since retaking office last year.

He met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Saturday as part of a three-day tour, and they virtually flagged off a passenger railway connecting the eastern Indian state of Bihar with Nepal.

It is the first such train link between the neighbours since services were suspended in 2014 for renovations.

According to Modi, both presidents agreed to prioritise trade and cross-border connectivity efforts.

“Such programmes would make a fantastic contribution to easy, hassle-free people interchange between the two nations,” he added.

The two nations also finalised petroleum product supply agreements and issued a joint vision statement on power sector cooperation.

Deuba’s voyage south follows the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Nepal and India.