Kathmandu, October 4
Members of the Eminent Persons’ Group comprising intellectuals from Nepal and India are holding a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. This is the second such meeting of the group.
From Nepal, the group under Foreign Minister Bhesh Bahadur Thapa has former Minister Nilambar Acharya, lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai and former Chief Commissioner of CIAA, Surya Nath Upadhyaya, as members.
India has Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, former Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad, Professor BC Upreti and Professor Mahendra P Lama as EPG members.
EPG members will focus on bilateral legal instruments like the 1950’s Peace and Friendship Treaty, including on its abrogation, and offer suggestions to governments of the two countries.
The first meeting of the EPG, formed during the visit of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli seven months ago, had taken place in Kathmandu in July, 2016.
As per the mandate, the two sides will have to prepare and submit a joint document to their respective governments at the end of their two-year tenure.
Nepal and India had agreed to constitute an EPG during Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s India visit (October 20-23, 2011). During India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Nepal visit on July 2, 2014, Nepal and India had agreed on forming an EPG comprising four members each.
