5th EPG meet ends with positive gestures to end status quo of 1950 treaty

Kathmandu / Oct 8: The fifth meeting of the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) formed to offer recommendations by studying the entire aspects of Nepal-India relations ended Sunday.

The two-day meeting held in Kathmandu discussed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950, border management and security, national interests of both the countries in a friendlier manner, coordinator of Nepali group of EPG and former Foreign Affairs Minister Bhekh Bahadur Thapa said.

“We are assured we will not be in status quo in terms of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship,” said Thapa, “Good gestures emerged to reach a conclusion in the remaining 10 months’ tenure of the EPG.”

At a news conference organised to share information about the EPG meeting, coordinator Thapa said that efforts were underway to give a new dimension to any issue based on study.

Stating that provision of identity card was compulsory to the Nepalis and Indian nationals travelling by air, Thapa said that consultations were going on regarding the same provision to those travelling via land routes.

In the meeting, issues of ensuring border security and making it accessible were intensively discussed.

General issues to resolve the border disputes were also discussed and the border management should be carried out based on international norms, EPG member from Nepal and lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai said.

The next meeting of the EPG is scheduled on November 11 and 12 in New Delhi, India.

So far, three meetings have been held in Nepal and two in India since July 2016. RSS