Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has voiced his concerns over an agreement between India and China to use Lipulekh as a route to carry out trade. According to his secretariat, the leader raised an objection regarding the issue during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.
Nepal claims Lipulekh as its own territory, while India has categorically dismissed it as “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence”.
“Prime Minister Oli, on the occasion, clearly raised its objection to the agreement reached between India and China to use Lipulekh, a Nepalese territory, as a trade route,” Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai was quoted as saying by the PM’s secretariat.
“Nepal believes that China will cooperate with Nepal in this regard,” PM Oli was quoted as saying in the statement.
However, China has not spoken on the issue. An official statement released by the Foreign Ministry of China also did not make any reference linked to it.
Nepal PM meets Xi Jinping
Nepal PM Oli’s secretariat further said that he and Xi Jinping vowed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation during the bilateral meeting on Saturday.
“They also agreed to move forward the bilateral mechanism for enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries,” the statement said.
A press release issued by the Nepal Embassy in China said that Nepal PM Oli expressed “hope on accelerating implementation of projects already agreed, including under the BRI, he requested support in such areas as fertiliser, petroleum, exploration, human resources, development, climate resilience and people-to-people connection”.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement said Xi, in his talks with Oli, pointed out that China-Nepal cooperation on the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative is steadily advancing, and the two peoples are becoming closer and closer.
Xi stressed that the two sides should enhance strategic mutual trust and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns, the statement said.
They should promote cooperation in industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, new energy, environmental protection, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, education, health, law enforcement, and security, he added.
The statement quoted Oli as saying that Nepal-China relations have withstood various trials and tribulations and have grown stronger over time.