Nepal Not Seeking Third-Party Mediation on Border Dispute With India, Says Foreign Minister Khanal
New Delhi: Nepal foreign minister Shisir Khanal on Sunday (June 7) said Kathmandu had not sought third-party mediation in its boundary dispute with India and confirmed that the two neighbours had agreed to activate existing bilateral mechanisms to address outstanding issues, including the long-running border question, following his talks with Union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar.
The Wire had reported that the boundary issue had figured in Saturday's discussions despite the official statements from both sides making no mention of the politically sensitive topic.
Highly placed sources had told The Wire that both the Indian and Nepali foreign ministers acknowledged the progress made by a joint field team working on boundary matters and agreed to continue discussions through existing boundary and border management mechanisms, which were expected to meet soon.
Speaking at a press conference at the Nepal embassy before returning to Kathmandu, Khanal stated that the two sides had agreed to make fuller use of existing bilateral mechanisms to address outstanding issues, including those related to the border.
"We do understand and acknowledge that there are issues between us. There are issues of concern, including the border, that can and should be solved through diplomatic dialogue," Khanal said.
"There are many mechanisms that exist between Nepal and India, whether it is about trade, energy, flooding, irrigation or the border. We agreed that we will completely activate all these mechanisms so that we are solving these problems that we have."
Khanal also sought to clarify recent remarks by Prime Minister Balendra Shah that had prompted India to reiterate that the boundary dispute must be resolved bilaterally.
"We want to solve our disputes through diplomatic processes," Khanal said. "We just wanted to see if we could get access to some of the documents that might be in libraries or museums in the UK. Our position was not that we were asking for mediation," he said.
He added that Nepal's position remained that the Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura areas belong to Nepal and said Kathmandu had conveyed its objections to both India and China through diplomatic notes after the two countries agreed to resume activities through Lipulekh.
The border issue has resurfaced in recent weeks following India's announcement that the 2026 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra would use the Lipulekh route again. Nepal subsequently objected, arguing that the territory remains disputed and that any arrangement involving the area requires its consent.
Despite the differences, Khanal struck a positive note on ties with India, describing his discussions with Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval as productive and saying he was returning to Kathmandu with "high optimism".
He said the new government in Nepal wanted to shift the focus of bilateral ties from geopolitical disputes to development cooperation, connectivity, energy and economic transformation.
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