Kathmandu, Oct 21: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has denied that Nepal was under pressure from or influence of any country, urging one and all to be free from such illusion.
He made this remark in a press meet held on Monday at the Tribhuvan International Airport to brief the media persons about the state visit by President Bidya Devi Bhandari to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar that concluded on Sunday.
"No country has exerted pressure to Nepal on any issue, and Nepal is free from pressure and influence from any country," he asserted.
Minister Gyawali said so in response to the query by journalists and the comments that appeared in the media which stated that the extradition treaty with China could not be signed during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping due to extraneous pressure.
"It is normal to ink treaty on mutual legal assistance in the context of increasing inter-country criminal activities and Nepal would sign the extradition treaty with China at an appropriate time," the Foreign Affairs Minister said.
Disclosing that State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi will be arriving in Kathmandu for attending the promotional programmes to be organised for the success of the Visit Nepal Year 2020, he said the people of Myanmar had stressed on establishing direct air link between Myanmar and Kathmandu or Lumbini.
Minister Gyawali said the citizens of Myanmar have kept their visit to Lumbini in high priority and also expressed his hope that more people from Myanmar will be visiting Nepal on religious tourism as the Gautam Buddha International Airport is coming into operation soon.
He said although Nepal was not a state party to the International Convention on Refugees, it is providing assistance to the Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees on humanitarian grounds. The Foreign Affairs Minister added that Nepal was deeply concerned regarding the refugee problem and was firm in its stance that they should be able to return to their home country in a dignified manner.
He emphasized that India and Pakistan should work towards minimizing the mutual tensions and normalizing the situation by adopting utmost tolerance for the India-Pakistan conflict would harm the regional stability and peace.