Comparative analysis of India and China Development Cooperation in Nepal (2008-2018)

Abstract

Nepal has been the focus of development assistance since the mid-20 th

century. The country has been reliant on financial aid from countries all over the world in various sectors. As the neighbors of Nepal, the aid cooperation of India and China is important to the development of the country. In this regard, a comparative analysis of aid cooperation from the two nations provided a solid background of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Whilst the theory of liberalism suggests that foreign aid is often altruistic and necessary for conditions of peace, realism argues the opposite. On the contrary realism describes the development assistance as the national interest of the donor nation rather than the interest of recipient nation. In this lens, India’s engagement in Nepal is mostly concentrated around the Terai region with the India’s interest to support major project adjoined with Indo-Nepal border. Similarly, China national interest in Nepal is to provide development cooperation support to the areas where Tibetan refuge influence in Nepal is prominent. China has spread their assistance to different sectors in areas with heavy Tibetan culture had influence. For more effective development, foreign aid must be provided with true altruistic intentions. The traditional division of foreign aid areas in Nepal by both India and China changed their strategy and covered the region of their strategic interest of late. Key Words: Official Development Assistance, Foreign Aid, Diplomatic Relations, Trade, Interdependency