Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs Shishir Khanal has said no agreement has been reached with any side so far regarding the extraction of uranium mines based in Mustang.

Responding to lawmakers’ queries in today’s meeting of the National Assembly, Minister Gyawali said although the information about the existence of mines was received during a preliminary study, no agreement was reached for the excavation. He said the government bodies have already refuted the fake news disseminated in digital media.

Responding to a query from lawmaker Bhuwan Bahadur Sunar, Minister Khanal said that the government was fully committed to the constitution provisions regarding the utilization of natural resources. Minister Khanal made it clear that no agreement would be made against the non-aligned foreign policy and Panchasheel principles.

Although preliminary study has confirmed the existence of mines in Mustang, he said further study and exploration was necessary for further study and investigation by the Department of Mines and Geology.

In his response to a query from lawmaker Bishnu Bahadur Bishwakarma, Minister Khanal clarified that the map of Susta, Limpiyadhura, Lipulek and Kalapani areas between Nepal and India was yet to be done.

He said the Indian side had no objection to the construction of around one kilometer embankment at Susta.

Likewise, the Indian side informed the House that the construction of additional 132-metre embankment requires necessary coordination between the concerned authorities of both the countries before construction of the embankment.

He informed the House that a joint team of the Armed Police Force (APF) and India’s Seema Surakshya Bal (SSB) had monitored the Nepal-India border areas at West Nawalparasi, Susta rural municipality of Susta on the Nepali side and Champaran and Rampurwa on the Indian side.

The Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project is constructing an embankment of about one kilometer from Bharatpur (Chitwan) to Susta rural municipality-5 in the western part of the Nepal-India border.

“The government is always committed to resolving the border issues through diplomatic dialogue on the basis of the historic treaty, agreement and map in line with the letter and spirit of Nepal-India relations,” Khanal said.

He claimed that although the bilateral technical committee between Nepal and India has finalized the demarcation of the border between Nepal and India, it is true that the bilateral technical team has not demarcated the border in Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, Kalapani and Susta areas.

“It’s true and it’s a fact,” he said. We are clear that these territories belong to Nepal. I had told the parliament before also that we have historical grounds, evidences and maps and on the basis of these we want to resolve our differences through bilateral diplomatic dialogue with our claims. ”

Stating that there were some disputes and discrimination between the neighbouring countries, he said he wanted to resolve this border dispute through diplomatic talks on the basis of historical facts and evidences.

The House was briefed about the recent visit of Foreign Minister Khanal to China. During the visit, the two delegations held extensive discussions on all aspects of Nepal-China bilateral relations.

The two sides have common understanding to further consolidate Nepal-China relations based on mutual friendship, goodwill and cooperation, he said.

Minister Khanal said that the government was working to resolve problems seen in Nepal’s tea export after high-level discussions. According to him, there was information that some days ago, the Indian helicopter entered the Nepali territory due to bad weather.