Kathmandu, Feb 19 As Nepal heads toward the March 5 General Elections, the country’s three major political forces — the Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) — on Thursday unveiled distinct yet overlapping foreign policy agendas, placing strong emphasis on friendly relations with neighbouring countries.
While the foreign policies of the traditional political parties — NC and UML — are well known based on their past governance experience, the foreign policy priorities of the RSP, which aspires to lead the next government, were keenly awaited. The party has named former Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah as its Prime Ministerial candidate.
In the election manifesto released on Thursday, the RSP said it would adopt a policy of “balanced and dynamic diplomacy”, pledging to reposition Nepal from a “buffer state” into a “vibrant bridge” by promoting trilateral economic partnerships and enhanced regional connectivity, particularly with neighbouring giants India and China.
Acknowledging the strategic interests of India and China in Nepal, as well as shifts in the global balance of power, the party emphasised that Nepal must adopt a proactive and flexible diplomatic posture to benefit from evolving geopolitics and the rise of neighbouring economies.
Pointing out several areas where India has made notable progress over the past decade, including digital public infrastructure, rapid development of high-quality physical infrastructure, formalisation of the economy, industrial–service sector coordination, and enhanced state capacity, the RSP said Nepal could also benefit from the southern neighbour’s development experience.
Similarly, the party highlighted the importance of forging stronger partnerships with China in the areas of mobilising concessional financing for world-class infrastructure projects, state-directed development planning, and learning from China’s exemplary models of inter-provincial competition to accelerate Nepal’s socio-economic transformation.
In its manifesto, the NC said that under its foreign policy, Nepal would not be part of any form of defence, military, or security conflicts, nor would it take part in strategic competition among major powers amid intensifying global rivalry. The party reaffirmed its long-standing principle of maintaining friendship with all nations on the basis of equality, stating that Nepal’s national interest would always remain paramount.
“Our relations with neighboring and friendly countries will be based on equality and mutual respect, and will be advanced based on mutual benefit and economic partnership,” the grand old party said.
Similarly, the CPN (UML) reaffirmed its long-standing foreign policy doctrine of “friendship with all, enmity with none,” pledging further to strengthen cordial relations and cooperation with neighbouring friendly countries while deepening engagement with the wider international community. The party stressed that under its leadership, Nepal would harbour no ill intent toward any neighbour and would not undertake any action that could harm their interests.
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