Not seeking mediation on border: Nepal FM

8 JUNE 2026

Kathmandu is focused on establishing Nepal’s claim on the Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura trijunction and is not “asking for mediation” by third parties, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said.
“The problems that existed when British India left the region still persist, so we believe Britain also has a role to play in this matter,” Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah had said in Nepal’s Parliament, stirring debates.
The new government under Prime Minister Balendra Shah of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was elected against the backdrop of the “Gen Z uprising”.
“We want to solve our disputes through diplomatic processes. We just want to see if we can access some of the documents that might be in libraries or museums in the U.K. Our position was not that we were asking for mediation,” Mr. Khanal said, elaborating on Mr. Shah’s remarks that Nepal was in contact with China and the U.K. on the Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura dispute with India.
“The problems that existed when British India left the region still persist, so we believe Britain also has a role to play in this matter,” Mr. Shah had said in Nepal’s Parliament, stirring debates.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had issued a rebuttal, reiterating that India and Nepal had established a bilateral mechanism for discussing the dispute, and there was no scope for third-party intervention.

Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra 2026

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had announced that the Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra for 2026 would be conducted “in coordination with the Government of the People’s Republic of China” through the Lipulekh pass that is claimed by Nepal, and the Nathu La pass in Sikkim.”
This announcement attracted a protest from Nepal, which communicated its objection to both India and China with claims that the land [Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura] belongs to Nepal.

Eminent Persons Group

To a question on the fate of the report of the Eminent Persons Group set up over a decade ago to provide guidelines to India-Nepal bilateral ties, Mr. Khanal said, “The EPG was commissioned by an agreement of the two Prime Ministers, and the report can only be submitted to two Prime Ministers.”