MEA official says that a formal invitation will be soon sent to Nepal for ICBA participation
While the Lipulekh Pass row clouded the visit of India’s foreign secretary to Nepal, India is set to host the new Foreign Minister of the Himalayan country to the International Big Cat Alliance (ICBA) Summit which is expected to be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With India set to extend an official invitation to the neighbouring country’s foreign minister for the first ever ICBA Summit to be hosted by New Delhi from June 1-2, the visit of the Nepalese foreign minister Shisir Khanal to India will be the first ever visit of a Nepalese minister to India after the formation of the Balendra Shah government in the neighbouring country.
Highly-placed sources in India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Nepal being among the 16 founding members of the ICBA, India is understood to have informed the Nepalese authorities that it will soon extend a formal invitation to the Nepalese Foreign Minister to participate in the Summit.
“A formal invitation is yet to be sent but Nepal is a founding member of the ICBA and a high-level dignitary from Nepal will be visiting India to participate in the ICBA,” a senior MEA official told TSG exclusively.
A highly-placed source in the Nepalese government confirmed that Khanal’s June visit to New Delhi is on track “as of now,” adding if that happens, that the Nepalese foreign minister will also be meeting the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time on the sidelines of the Summit which is set to be inaugurated by Modi on June 1.
“We are awaiting an official invitation but preparations are on for the visit. We are hoping that the Foreign Minister will be meeting the External Affairs Minister of India too for discussing bilateral ties and the outstanding issues between the two countries,” the official said.
While Khanal had met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar during his visit to Mauritius in April, the Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri was to travel to Nepal from May 11 onwards but the visit was “postponed’ due to undisclosed reasons by India, as reported by The Daily Guardian on May 5.
A report in a major Nepalese daily however states that while the Nepalese foreign secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai had extended a formal invitation to the Indian foreign secretary to visit Nepal and officials on both sides had even started preparing for the visit, the Indian side had informed Nepal that Misri’s visit to the South Asian neighbour had been “postponed” at least for now.
The daily said that the Nepalese PM Balendra Shah’s refusal to meet the Indian foreign secretary like senior diplomats from other countries and the recent controversy between the two countries over the Lipulekh Pass may be behind the “postponement” of Misri’s visit.
Along with holding a bilateral meeting with Khanal, Misri was also expected to hand over an invitation from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the new Nepalese PM to visit India.
Sources say that since the Indian side was eager to engage with the new Nepalese regime, on May 1, Misri had even conveyed to Shankar Sarma, the Nepalese ambassador to India during his farewell call to the Indian foreign secretary, that he looked forward to visiting Kathmandu.
However, the situation changed drastically after Nepal issued a statement over its position on the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra by India via the Lipulekh Pass on May 3.
Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, the spokesperson for the Nepalese Foreign Ministry had remarked that under the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani- areas east of the Mahakali river – were integral parts of Nepal , adding that it was a position on which the Nepalese government remains “clear and firm” and that Nepal had consistently asked India to refrain from activities in the region, including road construction, expansion, border trade and pilgrimages. The Nepalese foreign ministry had further added that China had also been informed that Lipulekh lies in Nepalese territory.
However, this had elicited a reaction from India’s MEA whose spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal who said that India’s position on the issue had been “consistent and clear” and that the Lipulekh Pass had been a longstanding route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra since 1954 which “had been going on for decades.” Subsequently, Nepalese government’s spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said that while Nepal didn’t intend to enlarge its boundary; “the territory belonged to Nepal and the government has a clear view about this and is committed to its stance. This was soon followed by reports that Misri’s planned visit to Nepal had been “cancelled” or postponed even as there was no official statement ever made over Mistri’s visit by either of the two sides.
Both sides have since hinted at their openness to hold negotiations over the outstanding issues between the two countries.
While India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India was ready to discuss all outstanding issues with Nepal and that any border dispute could be resolved through dialogue, it added that “unilateral claims over any territory is not an appropriate way.”
This was followed by Pokharel stating on Friday that dialogue between the two countries had already begun and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was carrying out the necessary tasks.
Looking forward to bilateral meet, discussions on recent confrontations
With sources confirming that Khanal’s June visit to New Delhi is on track, a high-placed source privy to the developments said that the Nepalese side looked forward to holding discussions over furthering cooperation between the two countries along with addressing issues of dispute with an aim to “minimise confrontations.”
“We hope that the Nepalese Foreign Minister’s visit to India includes a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart to discuss ways to further cooperation and address issues of dispute to minimise confrontations,” the source said.
An MEA official said that details of any such meeting of Khanal with Jaishankar or Modi would be shared after confirmation of their schedule.
