Nepal preparing for talks with India on Kalapani: FM Gyawali

Nepal is preparing to fix a date for talks with India to resolve the Kalapani border issue, Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said on Monday. Nepal has raised objections to India's updated political map, claiming that Kalapani and Lipulek areas were shown under India's territory even though they lie within the Nepalese territory. However, India has said the new map accurately depicts its sovereign territory and it has in no manner revised its boundary with Nepal.

During a programme organised by Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu, Foreign Minister Gyawali said the Nepal government is preparing to fix a date for holding talks to resolve the border issue. The foreign minister claimed that after Nepal sent a formal letter to the government of India on November 23 for a dialogue to resolve the border issue, India has shown interest to resolve the issue by sending a reply.

"It is wrong to say that Nepal - India relations deteriorated due to the border related problems," he said. "India is ready to resolve the border issue through diplomatic channel," he claimed.

Strip maps covering 98 per cent of the India-Nepal boundary have been jointly finalised by the two countries. However, there are differences of perception on the alignment of the boundary in some areas such as Kalapani in Uttarakhand and Narsahi-Susta in Bihar.