"Not As Big As It Is Made Out To Be": Nepal Minister On Border Row With India

Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, speaking at NDTV World's 'Anviksha' India-Nepal Dialogue on Thursday, downplayed the contentious boundary row with India, urging to recognise the obvious: "only neighbours will have boundary problems", adding it is "not as big as it is made out to be".

"Only neighbours will have boundary problems. If you're not a neighbour, you would not have that problem. I mean, we have very open borders. It's unique in the world. People can just walk without any paper, pretty much," the 47-year-old Minister told NDTV.

The Minister acknowledged that there are "some issues" and that mechanisms are in place to deal with it.

"But obviously, there are some issues. It's not as big as it's often made out in narratives. Most of these are between Nepal and India and there are many different mechanisms, and among them is one area of boundary and border management as well," the Minister said.

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Nepal and India have had an old boundary dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India has consistently maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand. The three areas are located near the border between India and China.

The Minister spotlighted that there are a "couple of strong politically charged hotspots on both sides" and urged that the countries meet frequently to sort them out.

"And in that most of the boundary work has been completed, but there are a couple of strong politically charged hotspots on both sides, and my priority as a foreign minister and something that I'd communicated when I was in Delhi last time also is that the problems are obvious between two neighbours. In many areas, but what I would like to see is our mechanisms meet frequently, talk, discuss, as we discuss more, we come to the truth. So I take that approach, and what I'm very happy about in the last few months is that Nepal and India's mechanisms have begun to function," he said.

Earlier in June, the Indian government underscored that nearly 98 per cent of the border between the two South Asian neighbours has demarcated, adding there are some unresolved segments.

"While close to 98 per cent of the India-Nepal boundary has been demarcated, there are some unresolved segments. The shifting of the course of the Gandak river has resulted in this situation," the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson had said.

The Nepal Minister expressed hope that the two countries will overcome the challenges.

"Several meetings have taken place, including last week in Lucknow and Dehradun on border management, so our mechanisms are active. I feel that as we strengthen our existing institutions, we will be able to overcome the challenges we have," he said.

The Minister further stressed that job is to protect Nepal's national interest and that's how he views his country's relationship with nations.

"Each relationship is unique, and they have their own unique merit, and we have to look at these relationships in those unique terms from history, civilisation, engagement, and it is something that I'm striving towards as a foreign policy. My job is to think about work towards strengthening Nepal's national interest, so our relationship dynamics are based on Nepal's national interest rather than anything else," he asserted.