Kathmandu, April 5
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa has expressed concern about the recent EU-India joint statement on Nepal’s new constitution. He conveyed this concern during a meeting with ambassadors from EU member-states. In their statement issued from Brussels during a summit, the European Union and India had described Nepal’s constitution as incomplete and urged Nepal to address political agendas in a timebound manner.
But during Tuesday’s meeting, the EU representatives said they have taken Nepal’s constitution positively from the beginning. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already objected to the joint statement, accusing India and the EU of meddling with Nepal’s internal matters. The EU team had Rensje Teerink, Head of EU Delegation to Nepal, as its leader. Mohan Shrestha, press adviser to Thapa, described it as a regular meeting.
Responding to Foreign Minister’s concerns about the joint statement, the EU representatives replied that the EU still takes the constitution positively, Shrestha told Onlinekhabar.
Following the meeting, Teerink said:
EU has always strongly supported Nepal’s PP & welcomed Constitution as historic step. We stand by that declaration https://t.co/ZmekRhnZhw
— Rensje Teerink (@RensjeTeerink) April 5, 2016
