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Russian Ambassador to Nepal Aleksei Novikov today paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire. 

During the meeting held at the Singha Durbar, the two exchanged views on matters relating to Nepal-Russia relations and on the parliamentary practices in both countries.

Stating the Russian Federation is the old friend of Nepal, the Speaker said both countries enjoyed a cordial relation since they established the diplomatic ties in 1956.

He expressed gratitude for Russia's significant contributions to Nepal's development, including support provided during the 2015 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Russian ambassador also highlighted the importance of parliamentary exchanges between the two nations.

The Russian envoy said the Russia visit by National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina in April was significant in this regard.

According to him, a high-level delegation from Russia is preparing to visit Nepal in the course of the implementation of bilateral agreements reached during the NA Chair's visit.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed the government's commitment to establishing a credible transitional justice process to uncover the truth, providing reparations to the survivors.

In his address to the National Conference on Sentencing Regime in the Context of Transitional Justice Process in Nepal here today, the Prime Minister pledged to bring those responsible for grave human rights violations to justice and move towards establishing reconciliation in society. "In this endeavor, we will be guided by the Comprehensive Peace Accord, the directives of the Supreme Court of Nepal, and relevant international commitments, as well as the concerns of the victims."

In the event organized by Advocacy Forum and International Commission on Jurists (ICJ), the Prime Minister called for a strong support from all walks of the society including survivors, civil societies, political parties and international community to conclude the process successfully.

Stating that though the Bill to amend the Enforced Disappearance and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2014 was tabled in the Parliament in July 2022, the document could not be passed because the expiry of the tenure of the parliament, the Prime Minister said," After the commencement of the new parliament, the bill has been registered with some reform and now is under consideration in the parliamentary committee.  We hope that the Committee will resolved some of the issues that have been raised by the stakeholders."

He said that if the Bill is endorsed by the House, it will open a space for the development of a comprehensive and coherent transitional justice strategy that will allow Nepal to achieve both the greatest possible satisfaction of the rights of survivors and a lasting peace.

"The new constitution itself is the product of the peace agreement which incorporates almost all human rights enshrined in the international human rights law. The immediate enforceability of the economic, social and cultural rights in the constitution, can be marked as the major achievement which was a key agenda of the conflict," the Prime Minister said.

Also speaking at the program, former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha said it would not take much time to conclude the transitional justice process if ‘justice' was prioritized through the whole process.  "We are in the course of a sustainable peace in the nation and the goal is achievable if the essence of justice is prioritized."  He was of the opinion of making the Bill relating to transitional justice widely-acceptable and concluding the peace process without any further delay.

Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the United Nations resident coordinator of Nepal, underscored the importance of involving stakeholders and survivors in the transitional justice process to ensure its effectiveness.

Santiago A Canton, the secretary general of ICJ, echoed the need to prioritize the concerns of survivors in the transitional justice process.

Suman Adhikari, a representative from the survivors' community, urged the Prime Minister and political leaders to pay special attention to conclude the process, ensuring justice for survivors.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called on President Ram Chandra Paudel on Monday.

During the meeting held at the Office of the President, Shital Niwas, the head of the government apprised the head of the state of his upcoming participation in the United Nations General Assembly and the China visit, according to President's press advisor Kiran Pokhrel.

On the occasion, the two exchanged views on other contemporary affairs, it has been learnt.

In May, 2020, Nepal’s Parliament unanimously issued a new political map showing Kalapani, Limpiyahura and Lipulekh as Nepali territories. All political parties supported the initiative of the then government under CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.

However, it appears that the then government did not follow the due process to make the new map acceptable to the international community, including the neighbors—India and China. The government should have informed the United Nations, Google and other international communities, but it didn’t, in all likelihood. The Department of Survey printed the English version of the map, but it was not circulated to the international community.

Speaking at a program on Sunday, Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said, “We have not officially communicated with the international community about the new map, ministers of the previous government are claiming that they have informed the international community but I have no record of such communication taking place.”

On 28 Aug 2023, China published its ‘standard map’, which did not show the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas inside Nepal. 

Amid this controversy, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads, “Nepal stands firm and clear on its political and administrative map that the Parliament unanimously approved in 2020. The Government of Nepal unequivocally believes that our neighbors as well as the international community must respect 

this map.” 

According to the ministry, Nepal remains committed to resolving the boundary matters through dialogues and diplomacy.

Meanwhile, the International Relations Committee of the Parliament is planning to take the foreign ministry to task regarding its take on the map controversy.

“There are conflicting claims from the then and current ministers about the map, so we are preparing to seek a clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Raj Kishor Yadav, the committee chair