k|a'4 ;ldlt a}7s pkk|wfg tyf k//fi6«dGqL sdn yfkf ;f]daf/ g]kfn–ef/t ;DaGwsf] ;du| kIfsf] cWoog / k'g/fjnf]sg ug{ ul7t k|a'4 ;d"xsf] klxnf] a}7sdf ;xefuL x'g'x'Fb} . tl:a/ M /f]zg ;fksf]6f, /f;; Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Thapa flanked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari (left)  and Nepal's former ambassador to India Bhekh Bahadur Thapa during the first meeting of the Nepal-India Eminent Persons Group in Kathmandu on Monday. Photo: RSS

The first meeting of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) jointly formed by Nepal and India to review the bilateral relations between the two countries kicked off in Kathmandu on Monday.

Inaugurating the meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Thapa expressed his hope that the meeting will help strengthen Nepal-India relations, which political analysts believe reached a nadir in the wake of last year's Indian blockade against the landlocked Himalayan country.

The agenda of issues to be discussed during the meeting includes the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Nepal and India. Nepal's top political leaders have often stressed the need to review this treaty, which they say imposes unequal obligations. Indian leaders have indicated that they are open to reviewing the treaty, but they say Nepal needs to come up with a list of contentious clauses.

The relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi soured after India choked off the supply of fuel and essential commodities to Nepal to mount pressure on the government to address the demands raised by Madhesi parties. During his state visit to India early this year, Prime Minister KP Oli said the relations between the two countries have 'normalised'. But that claim seemed hollow when Nepal abruptly cancelled President Bidya Bhandari's India visit and recalled its ambassador to India, Deep Narayan Upadhayay.

The first EPG meeting is taking place at a time when the Nepal-India relations are still mired in mutual distrust. PM Oli blames India for trying to topple his government by cobbling together a coalition comprising the Nepali Congress and the Maoists, while India thinks Kathmandu is cosying up to Beijing, say political analysts.

The Indian panel of the EPG is led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, and its other members are former ambassador to Nepal Jayanta Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Mahendra P Lama and Vivekananda International Foundation fellow BC Upreti.

The Nepali panel, led by former ambassador to India Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, has former Chief Commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Surya Nath Upadhyay, former Law Minister Nilambar Acharya and UML lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai as its members.