Narayan Prakash Saud, Nepal’s foreign minister, has vowed to prevent any intrusion on the country’s borders, no matter how little.
The agreement to resolve the border issues through mutual understanding was reached during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent visit to India, he said in response to questions posed by the MPs during the discussion on various budget headings of the Foreign Ministry under the Appropriation Bill, 2080 BS at the House of Representatives today. This was done to ensure that not even a single inch of Nepal’s territory is encroached upon.
According to Minister Saud, the Prime Minister’s trip to India was successful in strengthening ties between the two nations. He said that talks with India on the sale of 556 megawatts of energy from Upper Tamakoshi to India resulted in a preliminary agreement on a long-term power trading arrangement.
Minister Saud further stated that although the government covered the costs of the tour of the government delegation and the government media personnel, the private sector officials went to India at their own expense.
Even though the government is working to make the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) vibrant, the effort has not been successful since the SAARC mechanism needs unanimity to function, which is absent.
According to Minister Saud, the selection of the ambassadors followed the predetermined procedures. He also said that the department of passports has eased the passport service, which would be made simpler and more effective.
He promised that the National Archives would work with him to ensure the safety of the ministry’s critical documents.
Earlier, issues about the allocation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were raised by MPs Raghuji Pant, Prem Suwal, Santosh Pariyar, Jwalakumari Sah, Madhav Sapkota, Damodar Paudel, Samjhana Thapaliya, Asim Sah, Narayan Prasad Acharya, and others.
In response to queries from the MPs, Minister Saud told the Parliament that he had spoken to the Indian External Affairs Minister regarding the mural that had been installed in the Indian Parliament and had been advised that it was an Ashoka era artwork rather than a political map. The Nepali Embassy in Delhi, he said, has been instructed to comprehend the map and report the government appropriately.
He said that the foreign ministry has received around 4% of the entire budget this year and highlighted that all parties should come to an agreement on a unified foreign policy, work on it for the sake of the country, and cease making remarks just for political purposes.
At numerous border crossings, attempts are being undertaken to reopen the inoperative checks, according to Minister Saud. He said that despite being signed in 2017, the BRI deal has not yet been put into effect.