How Bangladesh-India-Nepal Initiative (BIN) can trigger connectivity and prosperity for Nepal, Bangladesh and India

The e-inauguration of Darchula to Lipulekh road by India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8 was a surprising move at a time when Nepal was offering to hold Foreign Secretary level talks to resolve outstanding disputes with India. Earlier, Nepal had sent two diplomatic notes to India protesting the new map published by India on November 2, 2019, and in 2015 when India and China signed an agreement in Beijing to make “Lipulekh pass” a trading route to increase their bilateral trade.

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis is changing the world drastically. The crisis has turned into an unbelievable loss of human lives and millions of people are being infected every day. Governments are putting their utmost efforts to control the pandemic; and global pharmaceutical companies as well as scientists are in the research mode to develop COVID-19 vaccine. At the same time, pandemic is leading world towards financial slowdown and international financial institutions such as Asian Development Bank (ADB) have estimated global cost of pandemic could range from USD 2.0 trillion to $ 4.1 trillion; equivalent loss of between 2.3 to 4.8 percent of global GDP. Nepal is acutely feeling the brunt.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has badly hit diplomacy. Several international diplomatic conclaves, conferences, and high-level diplomatic trips are on pause. Diplomats are being asked to stay at home. Meeting rooms in the Foreign Ministries and Embassies see no human presence. Most of the international organizations such as United Nations, European Union, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have moved online, using the digital platforms to conduct the meetings.