At a time when the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal has criticised India’s “unfair” treatment towards Nepal, the Himalayan nation’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said on Wednesday that Nepal is fortunate to have a neighbour like India which has contributed to the development of the country and its people.

While inaugurating a school opened with India’s assistance here, Saud said that this developmental project is particularly important as it will ensure education for generations of Nepali students and help them in their future careers. Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, was also present on the occasion.

Saud also said that he looks forward to continued support from India in Nepal’s development.

Ambassador Srivastava highlighted that this project is an important part of the very robust development partnership between India and Nepal, which has made significant strides in recent years, spanning various priority sectors of the government of Nepal and its people.

He assured continued commitment of the Government of India to continue to bolster the development partnership as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal, for the benefit of the people of both the countries.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, had said while addressing a function on Saturday that “unfortunately you have a neighbour like India, but fortunately you have a neighbour like India, because India is a huge market with huge potential you can tap into”.

“But at the same time, India’s policy towards Nepal and other neighbours is not so friendly and not so beneficial to Nepal. So we call that policy of constraints,” Sing had said.

“When the Nepal government formulates your economic policies, you have to take your decisions under those circumstances,” the Chinese Ambassador had said.

The remarks of the Chinese Ambassador had sparked a controversy in Nepal, leading to calls to protest Song’s statement against a neighbouring country of the nation.