Tianjin, August 31(HS): The anticipated sidelined meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin has been abruptly called off. Despite initial mutual agreement and Nepal’s diplomatic efforts to secure a brief encounter, the Indian side declined to allot time following Oli’s controversial raising of the Lipulekh territorial dispute in discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Nepal’s envoy to China, Krishna Prasad Oli, confirmed the declining likelihood of the Modi-Oli sideline meeting, citing signals from senior Indian foreign ministry officials present at Tianjin. Reports indicate that the diplomatic momentum for the meeting stalled sharply within the last hour, marking a diplomatic setback amid already tense Nepal-India ties.

The cancellation underscores deepening strains after Nepal contested a recent China-Nepal trade agreement clause permitting commercial transit through Lipulekh Pass — territory also claimed by India. President Xi reportedly distanced China from the dispute, reiterating it as a bilateral issue between India and Nepal.

This fallout casts a shadow of uncertainty on Prime Minister Oli’s planned India visit scheduled for mid-September, with officials now questioning the trip’s immediate feasibility as bilateral tensions simmer. The diplomatic freeze signals a critical juncture in Nepal-India relations, complicated further by the regional geopolitical theater.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar