'Agreement to open Manasarovar doesn't afflict Nepal'

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 27: The government has concluded that the agreement between India and China to open the route to Kailash Manasarovar is not a matter of concern for Nepal.

Speaking at a press meet organised to make public the Cabinet decisions on Thursday, government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung said that the agreement does not affect Nepal’s sovereignty.

"Our sovereignty, which is non-negotiable, has not been impacted," he said. "It’s a technical matter that has existed since before. The Cabinet discussed the issue and concluded that the agreement does not warrant concern."

"There was an extensive discussion in the Cabinet regarding this," he said. "The conclusion is that the agreement was not made in a way that questions our sovereignty or raises concerns for us. Therefore, we do not need to worry."

About a week ago, in a meeting in Beijing, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, reached an agreement to resume the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimages that had been halted due to COVID-19.

Travel to the area involves passing through Nepal’s Lipulek and Kalapani regions. Nepal had previously objected to the agreements made by the two countries citing that the two took the decision without consulting Nepal. Lipulek and Kalapani are Nepali territories and new the route to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, China, passes through them.