Eminent People’s Group to meet in Kathmandu on July 4-5

Kathmandu, May 29

The first meeting of the Eminent Persons Group formed by Nepal and India will be held in Kathmandu on July 4-5.

According to Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, who is the coordinator of EPG’s Nepali team, India had initially proposed to hold the first meeting of the joint mechanism on June 27-28 but the Nepali side proposed July 4-5, which the Indian side agreed to.

Thapa said the Nepali team members would hold a meeting and prepare the agenda to be discussed in the joint mechanism.

The EPG was formed after the third meeting of the India–Nepal Joint Commission held in Kathmandu in July 2014 decided to establish the bilateral mechanism. The EPG comprises eight members four from Nepal and four from India.

The EPG is mandated to comprehensively review bilateral relations and recommend measures, including institutional frameworks to further enhance bilateral ties.

Nepali team of the EPG comprises Thapa, Nilambar Acharya, Rajan Bhattarai and Surya Nath Upadhyay.

Indian team comprises ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, former Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad, Prof Mahendra Lama and BC Upreti. Koshiyari is the coordinator of the Indian team.