Located in the middle of the Himalayas, Nepal is one of the most isolated, remote and poorest
countries in the world.
Traditionally it has been a kind of "protectorate", a satellite country for India.
However, at the end of 2017, the Communist Party of Nepal won the elections by an overwhelming
majority and has now set its sights on Beijing.
In this video we’ll show you what is happening and a bit about this country’s greatest
hidden treasure.
Let's go.
My friends, here’s a question and don’t Google it.
Do you know which country the Buddha was born in?
One, two, three...
Exactly!
In Nepal, a country located in the Himalayas which hosts many of the highest mountains
in the world.
Specifically, in this country, which covers an area about the size of Nicaragua, we can
find 8 of the 14 summits in the entire world that reach more than 8000 meters, including,
of course, Mount Everest.
The country also boasts a total of 240 peaks that reach higher than 6,000 meters.
In other words, Nepal is a paradise for mountain lovers.
And by the way, Kathmandu, its capital, and the largest city in the Himalayas, is also
one of backpackers’ favorite cities on the planet.
Why?
Well maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is a city full of temples,
pagodas and alleys full of life.
A capital where, in the twenty-first century, you won’t be able to find skyscrapers, wide
avenues, modern buses or practically any luxury franchise.
It sounds good, right?
Like one of the last drops of history in modern times.
Unfortunately, my friends, Nepal is also one of the poorest countries in the world.
According to the United Nations, Nepal is one of the Asian countries with the worst
Human Development Index scores....
Well, in Asia and in the world, because Nepal is in the 144th position.
And that isn’t surprising.
See, despite having almost 30 million inhabitants, its economy is smaller than that of Bolivia,
whose population barely exceeds 10 million inhabitants.
That is, in per capita terms, Bolivia is 3 times richer than Nepal.
That's why, with every day that passes 1,500 young people move abroad.
1,500!
And, my friends, it hasn’t been at all easy for the Nepalese.
Do you want to know why?
Well... listen up.
(A DOMINATED COUNTRY)
Nepal’s political system has been anchored in the past until practically the day before
yesterday.
Yes, until 2008, Nepal was an absolutist monarchy under the exclusive control of the king....
And by the way, a tidbit: despite being the birthplace of the Buddha himself, until 2006
this was the only country in the world where Hinduism was the official religion.
But not only that, between 1996 and 2006 the country suffered through a civil war between
the government forces, the monarchy-dictatorship forces, and the Maoist rebels, who supported
the establishment of a communist republic.
You heard that right: monarchy, civil war, Maoism... yes, we can understand why this
country is so poor.
There has been such a huge amount of chaos, that in the last 30 years, the government’s
average life expectancy was... 1 year.
But...
my friends, that’s not everything.
Nepal has another characteristic that has greatly conditioned its political and economic
situation.
See, as you know Nepal has no seaside… and, have you noticed who their only neighbors
are?
Exactly, Nepal is stuck between two giants, between two of the most probable future great
powers of this century: India and China.
Two countries that, moreover, don’t get along quite so well, as we saw on VISUALPOLITIK.
Yes, we could say that both China and India are in the forefront of Nepal’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs’ mind.
Well, the fact is that traditionally, and largely thanks to the orography that favors
it, Nepal has been a kind of satellite country for India.
Something that the New Delhi government has always been very clear about.
(“India wants to micromanage Nepal.
They have to control all government appointments, they have to know everything.
Their ambassadors behave like viceroys.
Aren’t we a sovereign nation?”.
Kishor Shrestha, editor of Jana Astha National Weekly and a board member of Nepal’s press
council.)
Perhaps the best proof of how India has always wanted to control this remote country’s
destiny happened in 2015.
At that time, political forces were designing the Constitution of the newly created Democratic
Federal Republic of Nepal.
Well, New Delhi demanded that Nepal create a separate province for people of Indian descent
who were living in the Terai plains, a region in southern Nepal, on the border with India.
Something the Nepalese political forces emphatically opposed: they wouldn’t establish political
separations based on identity under any circumstances.
Well, when New Delhi didn’t get an affirmative answer, what do you think they did?
Well... nothing less than block the borders, unofficially, but all provision trucks stopped
crossing.
This would have been bad, very bad, under any circumstance... but on top of that, this
blockade happened when the country was at its worst... shortly after suffering a huge
earthquake that caused enormous damage.
(“ The deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015 and killed thousands
of people was so powerful it moved Mount Everest.”
Business Insider)
And, you know what?
This hasn’t been the only blockade or the only strategy that India has used to pressure
Nepalese politicians to follow their...
"advice?".
After all, trade with India has traditionally accounted for almost three-quarters of all
Nepalese trade.
But now, after centuries of absolute monarchy and decades of war and chaos, things are beginning
to normalize in Nepal, and democracy is gaining strength.
And also, China’s doors are opening.
(CHINA’S ARRIVAL)
China and Nepal share a 1,400-kilometer border.
And in recent years, this border has become quite fashionable.
Commercial relations between both countries have tripled since 2010.
China has also become the country that invests the most money every year in Nepal and tourism
coming from the great Asian power is growing like foam.
In the last 10 years alone, despite the earthquake, the number of Chinese tourists arriving in
Nepal every year has multiplied by 4.
( “At present, China-Nepal relations are developing at the fastest pace we've seen.”
Yu Hong, China's ambassador in Nepal)
That’s how relations between Nepal and China are growing.
( “Hydropower to cement, Chinese businesses are already all around in this small South
Asian country.
Chinese internet providers are breaking Indian monopoly, Chinese tourists are flooding Nepal,
Chinese-language institutions are mushrooming, more Nepali students are travelling to China
than to India, and hundreds of Nepali officials are invited to China every year as part of
an unprecedented charm offensive.
SCPM)
But... you know what?
That’s not all.
At the end of 2017, elections were held to elect a new parliament and a new government:
The Communist Party’s victory was overwhelming.
A communist party very much influenced by Beijing.
Now the new Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, has boosted relations with its northern
neighbor to grow trade and investment but also to gain independence from India as its
number 1 priority.
And, folks, Beijing clearly doesn’t want to miss this opportunity:
therefore, it’s putting huge projects on the table to change Nepal’s situation forever:
roads, airports and above all the promise of a new railway line.
For example, the Chinese government has announced that it’s looking into extending the railway
that connects Tibet with the eastern coast all the way to the Nepalese border.
And there’s little doubt that China would have no problem financing the railway’s
construction all the way to Kathmandu
And, by the way, we aren’t talking about a small project.
Connecting Nepal and China by rail could mean multiplying the arrival of Chinese tourists
by 10, 15 or even 20.
And if the train, in addition, was connected to the Indian railway network...
we could be speaking of a revolution in transporting merchandise between the two great giants.
(“If we can connect this railway network to our east-west rail project, it can revolutionise
China-India trade, with Nepal in the middle”.
Khadga Prasad Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal.)
Of course, the new government doesn’t intend to break ties with India, but it looks like
Nepal has stopped being New Delhi’s subordinate.
And most importantly, for the first time, it looks like this country has a clear option
for a better future.
Want to know how?
Listen up.
(THE FUTURE: WATER AND MOUNTAINS)
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world... but it doesn't have to continue to
be so.
Allow me to explain.
On the one hand, Nepal is a country with nature, mountains, exotic landscapes and an impressive
gastronomy.
It’s no secret that its tourism potential is huge, especially if communications with
China improve, and as we’ve seen, this is very likely to happen.
Who wouldn't like to visit Nepal?
But that's not all… far from it.
Nepal’s great hidden treasure is... water.
You heard that right… water!
As we’ve already seen, Nepal has huge mountains and steep valleys that have been carved by
large rivers.
And what can be done with all this natural wealth?
Well...
Studies conducted by the Nepalese government show that Nepal's abundant water resources
can produce huge amounts of hydroelectric power at a very low cost.
Basically, its potential power generation capacity could be almost 50%, half of all
the hydropower the United States produces.
And that, my friends, is a lot of electricity.
Also, let’s not forget, Nepal is located between India and China, and very close to
Bangladesh...
three fast-growing economies whose electricity consumption is soaring...
And Nepal may have the capacity to supply them all with the cheapest electricity.
Of course so far, none of this has been exploited... but everything indicates that this "abandonment"
can be left behind very quickly.
If the country regains stability, investors will line up to finance and develop this kind
of project…
(“The only resource we have, like the Arabian countries have oil, is water,” Chhabi Gaire,
project manager at the Rasuwagadhi Hydroelectric Project, a 111-megawatt plant under construction
near China’s border.)
And the potential doesn’t end there...
Nepal’s new closeness to China could make Chinese money rush into the country to finance
large hydroelectric projects.
Well that’s precisely what the Nepalese government is thinking.
(“Nepal’s new communist prime minister will restart a Chinese-led US$2.5 billion
hydropower project that was pulled by the previous government considered friendly towards
India”.
South China Morning Post)
Anyway, that's the situation now.
Nepal is a very poor country, but with new policies it could stop being so.
Now, will the new government be able to leave its ideological inclinations behind and bet
on stability, openness and foreign investment?
Only time will tell.
But now it’s your turn, do you think Nepal should bet on China or should it continue
to strengthen ties with India?
Leave your answer in the comments as well as in the survey.
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Also, don’t forget to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided
the vocals in this episode that were not mine!
And as always, thanks for watching!