Nepal has signed a deal with China to import petroleum products. Nepal tries to boost supplies to deal with a deepening fuel crisis.
A Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between Nepal Oil Corp and National United Oil Corp (PetroChina). China would also supply one thousand tonnes of fuel to Nepal as a grant.
The fuel crisis in Nepal have virtually paralysed the country. The acute shortage of essential items, particularly petrol and gas has created unprecedented problems for the Nepalese people. The shortages have triggered intense anger against India in Nepal.
The Nepali political class is holding India responsible for hundreds of trucks carrying essential goods not going to Nepal. However, the Indian government has clarified that there is no blockade by India; it is the continuing strike in the Terai region that has brought Nepal to this point.
Nepal is almost totally dependent on India for overland supplies following earthquakes in the spring that killed nearly 9,000 people and blocked crossings from China.
But as relations with India turned sour, there has been growing speculation that Kathmandu might seek help from China, India’s rival in the Himalayas.
Almost 70% of Nepal’s trade is with India, bulk of its even third country trade happens through India, and almost half the foreign investment in Nepal is from India.