A day after Nepal and China signed several agreements, including a transit and transportation agreement, India has said Nepal is “free to explore new transit routes”. 

 Responding to journalists during a media briefing on Tuesday, Vikas Swarup, spokesman for India’a Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Nepal as a landlocked country is free to explore any practical option it wants.” Swarup, however, was quick to insist that Nepal-India relations have “own natural logic.” 

“India’s age-old ties with Nepal are unique and special, characterised by open border based on shared history, geography, culture, close people-to-people ties and close economic linkages,” he said

Arguing that two-thirds of Nepal’s global trade is with India and over 90 percent of Nepal’s third country import-export transit through India, Swarup went on to say that India is not in “the comparison business”. “Is there any other country in the world which can have the kind of relationship that Nepal has with India?” he wondered.

He said Prime Minister KP Oli was satisfied with his India visit last month and claimed that more was achieved during the visit than Oli had expected. Talking about connectivity between Nepal and India, Swarup mentioned the 26 land-customs stations between Nepal and India of which 10 can handle commercial cargo trucks. 

He said two integrated check points are under construction at Birgunj-Raxaul and Biratnagar-Jogbani border points. He also mentioned two more such check points that will be constructed at Bhairahawa-Sunauli and Nepalgunj border points in the next phase.

Two rail links are under construction and three more will be undertaken in the next phase to connect Nepal with India, Swarup said.

Swarup also highlighted an MoU signed for Amlekhgunj-Raxaul petroleum pipeline in August, 2015 and 600MW Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar transmission line that was inaugurated last month. He said India has already been exporting 330MW electricity to Nepal.