Public Opinion and Implications of Nepal’s Involvement in Hydropower Cooperation with India

Abstract

As two neighboring but power-divided countries, Nepal and India not only have deep historical ties but also have experienced many fluctuations in the development of bilateral relations. The water issue has always been one of the sensitive factors affecting the bilateral relationship between Nepal and India. In recent years, with the increase in Nepal’s power generation capacity and India’s focus on energy issues, hydropower has gradually become an important and controversial area of cooperation between the two countries. India’s use of Nepal’s hydropower as a tool for strategic competition with China and its attempts to increase its control over Nepal’s hydropower has also sparked multiple discussions in Nepal.