VOA标准英语2008年-Nepal Says it Will Maintain Equal Ties With Ind

Nepal's new government says the country will maintain equal ties with its giant neighbors India and China. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, a visit by Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda to Beijing has sparked speculation¹ that the Nepalese leader may not accord top priority to ties with India.

Nepal's Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav says Prime Minister Prachanda's recent visit to Beijing to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics was not intended to keep India at a distance.

He also says that Nepal's new government will maintain "equidistance" or balanced relations with both India and China.
　
Nepal's new prime minister Prachanda (File)

The comments came after Prime Minister Prachanda broke with a tradition followed by previous Nepalese leaders of making New Delhi their first international stop after assuming office. Instead he met top Chinese leaders in Beijing, and both sides promised to be "good neighbors and good friends."

Some commentators² saw the visit as a signal that Nepal's new leader, whose Communist Party of Nepal fought for a decade to overthrow³ the monarchy⁴, wants to build closer ties with China.

However, the head of Kathmandu's Center for Contemporary Studies, Lok Raj Baral, says any overtures⁵ to China by Nepal's new government are unlikely to come at the expense of relations with India.

"No government will ignore or can ignore our relations with India. So far as practical realities are there, we have more extensive relations with India. Economically we are tied up, people-to-people relationship we are very close, because we have open borders, cultural links are there, security-wise we are tied up," said Lok Raj Baral.

Landlocked Nepal has traditionally shared a special relationship with India, defined by a security and trade accord signed in 1950. The treaty allows people on both sides to travel across the border and work in either country, and commits both sides to assisting one another on security issues. India is also Nepal's biggest trading partner.

But Prime Minister Prachanda says the security and trade pact⁶ is "unequal" and wants a review of all treaties between India and Nepal.

A former Indian foreign secretary, Lalit Mansingh, says there have been similar calls by other Nepalese leaders in the past, and suggests that both countries should discuss the issue without either side feeling "sensitive about it." He also suggests that New Delhi could make several concessions⁷ to help Nepal.

"As a bigger neighbor we can do some things for Nepal without extracting reciprocity. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, and therefore we don't have to have the same terms of trade as we would have with say an advanced country," said Lalit Mansingh. "Therefore we can afford to be more generous in giving access to Nepalese products to our market."

Commentators say a visit by Nepalese foreign minister Upendra Yadav to New Delhi later this week to attend a regional conference will provide an opportunity to assess the direction in which the bilateral⁸ relationship will head in the coming months.

 

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

4 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

5 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

6 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。