Nepal's Prime Minister Oli contests India-China agreement to utilize Lipulekh for trade transit during talks with Xi Jinping
In a significant development, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli raised an objection during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the agreement between India and China to use Lipulekh as a trade route. Nepal claims Lipulekh as its own territory, while India has dismissed it as "neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence".
The meeting between Oli and Xi Jinping took place recently, and both leaders vowed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation. Xi Jinping pointed out that China-Nepal cooperation is becoming closer and closer. However, no official statement from China's Foreign Ministry refers to the Lipulekh issue. Similarly, China has not spoken publicly on the issue as of the article's publication.
During the meeting, Nepal's Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai stated that Prime Minister Oli clearly raised Nepal's objection to the agreement. Nepal believes that China will cooperate with them in this matter, according to Prime Minister Oli.
The discussion between the two leaders also covered various areas of cooperation, including industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, new energy, environmental protection, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, education, health, law enforcement, and security. Nepal requested support from China in areas such as fertiliser, petroleum, exploration, human resources, development, climate resilience, and people-to-people connection.
The Nepalese Prime Minister also expressed hope for accelerating the implementation of projects already agreed upon, including under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China-Nepal cooperation on the high-quality BRI is steadily advancing, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Moreover, the bilateral mechanism for enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation between Nepal and China was agreed upon. Xi Jinping stressed the need to enhance strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other on core issues and major concerns. Nepal-China relations have grown stronger despite various trials and tribulations, according to Nepal PM Oli.
It is worth noting that no official statement from India's Foreign Ministry regarding the Lipulekh issue was mentioned in the article. The Lipulekh issue remains a contentious point between Nepal and India, and it remains to be seen how this objection raised by Nepal will be addressed.
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