Downplaying the border row with India, Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal on Thursday noted that neighbours will have ‘boundary problems’ and also implied that the issue was being blown out of proportion, stating that 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,” Khanal said at an NDTV event as he acknowledged that there are “some issues” Nepal had raised objections to India and China’s plan to conduct the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the Lipulekh Pass, claiming it is Kathmandu’s territory. The Nepalese foreign ministry said that Kathmandu was not consulted before finalising the pilgrimage route.
At the time, India firmly rejected Nepal’s move and said that the Nepalese government had released a revised official map that included parts of Indian territory.
“Nepal doesn’t intend to enlarge its boundary; the territory belongs to Nepal, and the government has a clear view about this and is committed to its stance,” Sasmit Pokharel, the Nepal government’s spokesperson, had said amid the row. India also rejected any involvement of third parties in resolving its boundary dispute with Nepal as reports said that Nepalese prime Minister Balendra Shah had sought the participation of China and the United Kingdom to address the long-standing issue. However, Nepal later said it was in favour getting the dispute resolved through existing bilateral mechanisms as “no problem is too large and complex” when both sides meet with an open heart, rational mind and mutual respect. Khanal had said that Kathmandu refuses to see New Delhi through the “distorted, hyper-sensitive lens” of 21st-century geopolitics and instead aims to look at India with “clear eyes and a single transparent agenda of economic transformation of Nepal”. Earlier reporting noted: “Not As Big As It Is Made Out To Be”: Nepal Minister On Border Row With India “Not As Big As It Is Made Out To Be”: Nepal Minister On Border Row With India “Not As Big As It Is Made Out To Be”: Nepal Minister On Border Row With India Earlier reporting noted: The Minister acknowledged that there are “some issues” and that mechanisms are in place to deal with it. The Minister acknowledged that there are “some issues” and that mechanisms are in place to deal with it. Earlier reporting noted: 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”.
