Nepal's new government, led by a communist prime minister, will be giving priority to enhancing relationship with both its giant neighbors India and China, but won't use them against each other for its own benefit, the newly appointed foreign minister said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told The Associated Press in an interview that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is set to make his first official trip abroad to India since taking over power earlier this year.

Nepal is covered on three sides by India and shares an open border, while the highest Himalayan peaks are divided between Nepal and China. The two Asian giants compete for influence over the tiny nation, showering it with financial aid and investments.

Saud, however, said the government would continue to maintain good relationship with both countries and would not do anything to hamper ties with either of the neighbors.

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"We will never use the two nations against each other for our own benefit. We will not interfere with their internal matters of their countries, and we would also want that no other country should interfere with out internal issues," Saud said.

Until recently, India had been a dominant force in Nepal but China’s involvement has begun to grow. China’s investments include the building of airports, highways and hydro-power projects. Nepal, however, is dependent on India for all its oil needs and much of necessary supplies and medicines.

India and China’s bids for influence in Nepal are part of a greater regional power struggle. China views Nepal as key to its massive transcontinental infrastructure Belt and Road Initiative that builds on old Silk Road routes that once connected China to the West.

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India has been wary of Nepal since a communist government was elected in 2017. Again, after the election in late 2022, a coalition government headed by a communist prime minister has taken over.

Relations with India soured in 2015, when India supported protests by ethnic groups in southern Nepal against a new constitution and even imposed an unofficial economic blockade, shutting down the supply of oil and goods over the border.

The date of the prime minister's India visit is not fixed yet but is likely to be within weeks, Saud said.

"During the prime minister’s visit, there is going to be important discussion on water resources projects, trade and exporting electricity to third countries," Saud said.

"There are several mechanisms for discussions on issues concerning the two nations, which have been stalled and unable to be active for several reasons including COVID-19," he said. "We are going to try and activate those mechanisms."

Both Nepal and India have set up committees to work on issues related to border disputes, sharing river waters and even a friendship treaty that is long due to be reviewed.

A small New Mexico town near Albuquerque adopted an ordinance Wednesday aimed at blocking the distribution of abortion medication or supplies by mail, extending a wave of local government restrictions on abortion.

The ordinance won approval by a 4-1 vote of the town commission in Edgewood, a community of about 6,000 residents separated by a mountain pass from metropolitan Albuquerque. It aims to enforce provisions of a 19th century federal law that once prohibited mail shipments of abortion materials.

Edgewater commissioners acknowledged that the ordinance would be difficult to enforce — relying on private citizens to bring civil lawsuits against violators with damages capped at $100,000. They said legal changes could be costly after a municipal liability insurance pool refused coverage to Edgewood.

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Commissioner Sterling Donner was undeterred, at an evening meeting that stretched past midnight into Wednesday.

"We want to join our allies in the state that are doing the same things," he said. "It's time to rise up, it's time to fight ... for the rights of these unborn children."

The commission agreed to accept free legal representation from Texas-based attorney Jonathan Mitchell — an architect of the anti-abortion legislation in Texas and local government restrictions on abortion within several states.

Edgewood resident Erika Anderson said the ordinance threatens to pit neighbors against each other in lawsuits and tear the community apart.

"It’s really unnerving to see such a divisive ordinance trying to pull apart our community and our neighbors," she said. "I would really, really want you to consider ... the risk you are putting our town at by trying to be a leader or make a stand in this type of thing."

Proponents of the ordinance urged commissioners to send a message to potential local abortion providers including pharmacy chains. Impassioned speeches equated abortion with murder. Opponents of the ordinance accused commissioners of overstepping their authority and threatening access to vital medication.

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Edgewood Mayor Audrey Jaramillo said the commission chambers were too crowded for many people to enter, including her son. She read his concerns into the record: "Someone has to stand up for the defenseless babies. May we all agree — pro-baby."

Similar ordinances have been adopted by two counties and three municipalities across eastern New Mexico. But most of those ordinances have been blocked by the New Mexico Supreme Court while it considers a challenge by the state's Democratic attorney general.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez says the ordinances violate constitutional rights to equal protection and due process and threaten the state's status as a safe haven for women seeking abortions.

State abortion laws in New Mexico are among the most liberal in the country. In 2021, the Democratic-led New Mexico Legislature repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies, ensuring access to abortion even after the U.S. Supreme Court last year rolled back guarantees.

This year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two abortion-rights bills that override local ordinances aimed at limiting access and shield providers of abortions from prosecution by out-of-state interests.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit proceeds.