International Cooperation Over Nepal
1 May 2006

Peter Wonacott, in the April 27 Wall Street Journal (“Diplomacy May Pay Off in Nepal”, page A8), describes how the US, India, China, and Britain were able to look past contentious aspects in their relationships and find common interests in Nepal.  Wonacott identified the potential for a Maoist victory as the driving force behind the agreement; the countries feared the destabilizing effects on the region that might accompany a Maoist ascension to power.  Instead, in part because of the concerted diplomatic pressure in asking Gyanendra to step down, experts believe, the prospects for democracy are heightened.

The article observes that the reinstatement of parliament in Nepal may result in increased foreign aid from both India and the United States.  However, the extent to which China might press for further democratization in Nepal is unclear.  Wonacott reports, though, that the Brussels-based International Crisis Group asserts that the “foreign powers must devise a coordinated approach to help solve Nepal’s most nettlesome problems.”