Want to resolve boundary row with India: Nepalese foreign minister

Nepalese Foreign Minister said new government in Kathmandu refuses to look at India through the "distorted, hyper-sensitive lens of 21st century geopolitics"

Nepal wants to resolve the border row with India through diplomacy as no problem is too large if both sides sit across with an "open heart", Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Sunday.

Khanal said the new government in Kathmandu refuses to look at India through the "distorted, hyper-sensitive lens of 21st century geopolitics" and instead wants to build a mutually beneficial relationship for overall prosperity of both the nations.

The Nepalese foreign minister's remarks at a media interaction came a day after he held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Khanal kicked off a three-day trip to New Delhi on Friday to strengthen bilateral ties, a visit overshadowed by a raging controversy triggered by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah's recent remarks on the boundary row between the two sides.

 

No problem is too large and no boundary too complex when we sit down with an open heart, Khanal said  "We look at India with an open heart, clear eyes, and with a single, transparent agenda: the economic transformation of Nepal," he said.

"Rather than engaging in hyper-nationalistic grandstanding, we are pursuing calm, data-driven approach to resolve issues," Khanal said.

He also lauded India's economic growth.

"When we look across the border, we see a Rising India - an India that has fundamentally and beautifully redefined itself on the global stage as a dynamic, fast-growing tech and economic powerhouse," he said.

"We want to engage with this India of intense aspiration and cutting-edge technology. In turn, we bring the energy of an Aspiring Nepal," he added.