Wed, Sep 17 02:19 AM
The Nepal Government on Tuesday showed its willingness to take a fresh look at the 1950 bilateral treaty even as India said it was ready to "update" the agreement to "reflect today's realities".
Nepal's Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav said both sides agreed in-principle to "revise, upgrade and rethink" on the treaty. "If we need a new treaty, there will be one. We are not saying whether it (the treaty) is unequal or equal. But the times have changed, so it needs to be changed for our friendship," he said.
India's Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, however, said, "Nepal is keen on a (fresh) look at the 1950 treaty, to update it, we are ready to do so" even as he added, "Updating is pretty big word. We are not trying to limit our options."
Menon said a high-level committee at the level of Foreign secretaries of both countries would discuss the issue.
While Prachanda on Tuesday extended an invitation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Nepal, the Foreign Secretary said they also decided to reactivate bilateral mechanisms to take forward the "unique" relations between the two neighbours.
Menon said besides the Foreign secretaries, Home secretaries of the two countries would also meet to review security concerns and other issues.