E-Paper
Nepal PM calls for resolving pending issues with India
New Delhi
New Delhi
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday called for dialogue to resolve differences and pending issues with India as he and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the second integrated check post (ICP) along the border.
The two premiers opened the ICP at Jogbani-Biratnagar, built with Indian aid to facilitate trade and people’s movement across the border, through video conference. Jogbani-Biratnagar is an important trade point and the ICP is equipped with modern facilities for customs, immigration and quarantine.
Modi said India has been a “trusted partner” in Nepal’s development and improving cross-border connectivity is an important part of his government’s “neighbourhood first” policy.
Oli said such development projects are symbols of the “close friendly relations” between the two sides, but added that India and Nepal should also focus on tackling “pending issues” and differences.
“I’m of the view that by working together in a spirit of friendliness and accommodation, we can expand the scope and enrich the substance of bilateral relations. The time has come to resolve all pending issues through dialogue in the lasting interest of our two countries and peoples,” he said.
“Our ministers and respective officials would meet to sort out differences and advance the partnership agenda,” Oli said without giving details, describing the “stable and majority governments in both countries” as an “opportune moment”.
Though Oli didn’t specify the pending issues, he was apparently referring to the disputed border area of Kalapani, which came to the forefront last year after India issued new maps following the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir that showed the region as part of Indian territory, and Nepal’s demand for a review of the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
Oli said the timely completion of bilateral projects has delivered tangible benefits to the people and added momentum to the relationship. Noting that Kathmandu is always ready to work closely with New Delhi, Oli renewed his invitation to Modi to visit Nepal. “Your visit will provide us an excellent opportunity to review the achievements made and chart the course of action for the future,” he said.
The inauguration of the ICP came four months after Modi and Oli jointly opened South Asia’s first cross-border oil pipeline, with an annual capacity of 2 million metric tonnes, between Motihari in India’s Bihar and Amlekhgunj in Nepal. The pipeline replaced tankers that carry petroleum products from India as part of an arrangement put in place in 1973.
Tuesday’s event also marked the completion of the rebuilding of 45,000 out of 50,000 houses in Nepal’s Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, which were destroyed by the 2015 earthquake, with grant assistance from India. The first ICP at Birgunj was inaugurated during Oli’s visit to India in April 2018.
Modi highlighted the importance of better connectivity between India and Nepal and said: “India is committed to simplify and smoothen traffic with all friendly countries in the neighbourhood, and to further facilitate contacts in business, culture and education.”
India and Nepal, he said, are working on several cross-border connectivity projects such as road and rail links and power transmission lines. “Connectivity works as a catalyst for the development of not only the country but the region as a whole,” he added.
