KATHMANDU, April 2 (Xinhua) — The Nepalese government on Friday termed the EU-India joint statement as “altogether inappropriate”, which had a reference to the Himalayan country’s Constitution promulgated on September last year.
A meeting of the council of ministers presided by Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Kathmandu concluded that the EU-India joint statement issued on March 30 in Brussels was disruptive towards country’s sovereignty, a government spokesman said.
“Serious attention has been drawn with regards to a reference on our new constitution made in the recent joint statement issued after the EU-India India Summit in Brussels. Today’s meeting has concluded that the joint statement is altogether inappropriate. It is disruptive towards an independent country’s sovereignty,” Minister for Information and Communications, Sherdhan Rai, who is also the spokesman of the Nepalese government, told reporters.
The minister also said that Nepal does not have any constitutional problems at this time and the country has been entered into a new era of peace and stability after the promulgation of the Constitution.
Point 17 of the joint statement after the 13th EU-India summit stated “India and the EU have agreed on the need for a lasting and inclusive constitutional settlement in Nepal that will address the remaining constitutional issues in a time-bound manner, and promote political stability and economic growth.”
Expressing displeasure over this joint statement, the Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged India and EU to refrain from making “any uncalled for statement”, on Thursday.
“The constitution making and its promulgation are essentially internal matters of a country. Nepal has now moved ahead along the path of political stability and economic development,” in the strongly-worded statement released the ministry had said adding “Against this backdrop, the EU-India Joint Statement not only hurts the sentiments of the people of Nepal but also defies the fundamental principle of non-interference in internal affairs of a country in breach of the UN Charter and norms of international law.”