Nepal formed 4-member EPG to review agreements with India

Government of Nepal on 14 January 2016 formed a 4-member eminent persons group (EPG) to look into India-Nepal ties in totality and review all bilateral treaties with India. A decision in this regard was approved by the Cabinet at a meeting headed by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Terms of reference of the EPG

• The group will review the entire gamut of bilateral treaties including the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which has been the basis of bilateral relations for the last 65 years.
• It will hold interactions with various stakeholders and suggest measures to be taken to review or adjust or replace all bilateral treaties.
• Before finalising its recommendations, it will visit both sides for necessary consultations and study.
• The group will submit the recommendations to the respective foreign secretaries of Nepal and India.

The Nepal Government also sanctioned 1 million US dollars to run the secretariat of the EPG.

Members of the EPG

• Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, a former diplomat
• Surya Nath Uphadhyay, a former top bureaucrat
• Rajan Bhattarai, a CPN-UML parliamentarian
• Kul Chandra Gautam, former UN assistant secretary-general

Background

The committee was formed in accordance with a decision taken at the third Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) of Nepal and India that was held in Kathmandu in July 2014.

The JCM decided to form EPGs with four members on each side at the request of Nepal. Each EPG will have an eminent parliamentarian, a lawyer, an economist and a civil society leader.