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Nepal proposes taskforce to look into bilateral treaties, agreements amid strained ties with India

Xinhua, January 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

mid strained ties with India, the Nepalese government has proposed the formation of a four-member Eminent Persons' Group (EPG) to review the existing bilateral agreements and treaties including the Peace and Friendship Treaty signed between the two countries in 1950, officials said Thursday.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli on Wednesday evening nominated the names of four persons to be included in the Eminent Persons' Group, Mr. Gopal Khanal, the foreign relations expert of the prime minister told Xinhua.

Former finance minister who also served as the Nepalese Ambassador to India Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, former chief of the Commission for Investigation Authority Suyra Nath Upadhyaya, Nepalese former ambassador to Sri Lanka Nilamber Acharya and ruling CPN-UML party lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai have been named as members of the proposed EPG.

The Nepalese government's decision to propose the taskforce came at a time when the bilateral relations between India and Nepal has marked a new low following India imposed unofficial blockade on Nepal after the Himalayan country issued the new Constitution on Sept. 20 last year. However, India denies any kind of blockade on Nepal.

The Nepalese government will soon propose to the Indian government through diplomatic channels regarding the formation of the Eminent Persons' Group, officials said.

According to officials at the Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, India will soon propose four names to be included in the eight-member Eminent Persons' Group.

The third Joint Commission Meeting between Nepal and India held in July 2014 in Kathmandu had made a formal decision to set up the Eminent Persons' Group with four members from each side.

Officials said that the bilateral taskforce will be mandated to look into the entire gamut of Nepal-India relations. The taskforce will prepare a comprehensive report within two years on anything that needs to be amended in all bilateral treaties and agreements between India and Nepal. Enditem