Border Dispute Can Be Resolved By Dialogue: Nepal

The territorial dispute between Nepal and India can only be solved through dialogue, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said on Thursday.

Gyawali made the remarks in an interview with state-owned Nepal Television.

India and Nepal will hold review mechanism dialogue next week to take stock of the progress of the ongoing projects in the Himalayan nation, sources had said on Wednesday.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra will be holding talks with Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, they added.

The meeting holds significance as it will be the first since the deterioration of ties between the two nations following the issuance of a new map by the Nepal government incorporating parts of Indian territory.

New Delhi has been assisting Kathmandu in various development projects under India-Nepal bilateral initiation to support and strengthen grassroots infrastructure development projects across the Himalayan nation.

Projects under this initiative benefit the communities in the project area, particularly in the areas of education, health, connectivity, drinking water and sanitation, vocational training and medical campus. Since 2003, India has completed 422 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), covering 77 districts of Nepal with a financial grant of over NRs 798.7 crores, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Nepal government had issued the new map of the country in May incorporating Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.

India had said that the updated map is “not based on historical facts and evidence” and termed the claims by Nepal as artificial enlargement.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava also said that the move is violative of the current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues. (ANI)