Trilateral cooperation among China, India and Nepal urged(3)

Prachanda resigned from the prime minister's post on May 25, 2009, following a controversy about his move to sack the Chief of Nepal's Army Rookmangad Katuwal. The chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) said that trade relations between China and India are developing very fast and the two countries have cooperated in many other areas.

He said that he discussed the idea of trilateral cooperation with Chinese leaders and they were enthusiastic about it.

"However, in order for the idea to prosper, it must be agreed by the three concerned countries and India is not yet willing to participate and that's where the problem lies," Prachanda said.

Nepal also emphasized the importance of the trilateral cooperation, saying that his country can serve as one of the transit routes linking China and India.

A senior leader of Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist who succeeded Prachanda as Nepal's prime minister from May 25, 2009 to Feb. 6, 2011, Nepal cited as example the Karnali hydro power project.

He said that funds for its development can come from one side and other side can consume the produced electricity. "So there is a chance for the project to become a reality if we can work together."

India and China, Asia's two fastest growing economies, have a deepening bonds of trade and economic cooperation. In 2000, bilateral trade between the two counties was worth only 2.9 billion US dollars; but in 2011, bilateral trade surged to 73 billion US dollars.

At present, China is India's number one trading partner. The two neighbors have set a trade target of 100 billion US dollars for 2015.

Nepal is a small landlocked country that hopes to grow alongside its prosperous neighbors. But while China is expected to grow by 8 percent this year and India by at least 6 percent, Nepal 's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by only 3.5 percent.