'Old baggage refers to freeing diplomacy from internal divide'

Kathmandu, Sept. 15

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said that the government is fully committed to conducting Nepal’s foreign policy with the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security and long-term national interests at its core.

Addressing the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, he said his remark during his visit to India that the 'current government has no old baggage' referred to freeing foreign policy and diplomacy from the internal political polarisation and narrow political weaponisation seen in the past. He stressed that the remark was not directed at Nepal’s history, national legacy, sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, national interests or the preservation of historical state documents.

Lawmaker Sita Thapaliya had asked what the remark meant, which decisions of previous governments constituted 'baggage', whether the decision to incorporate the map covering Lipulek, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura into the constitution was considered 'old baggage', and what mistakes had been made in previous governments’ foreign policies.

In response, FM Khanal said his 'old baggage' remark during the India visit needed to be understood in its proper context and diplomatic sense. He said the term 'baggage' naturally carries a negative connotation, referring to burdens or obstacles from the past.

"My remark was intended to convey that the government wanted to move away from internal political polarisation and the parochial political weaponisation of foreign policy and diplomacy," he reiterated.

He said it would be an exaggeration to interpret the remark as being contrary to the continuity of the state and government or the state’s legacy.

According to him, the 'baggage' of the past, referred to the improper practice of using relations with neighbouring countries as instruments for domestic political gain or loss, which the current government was determined to abandon.

FM Khanal further said that the remark was not directed at Nepal’s glorious history, national legacy, sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, protection of national interests or preservation of historical state documents.

"Nepal’s political map incorporating Lipulek, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, and the constitutional amendment endorsing the map, represented a unanimous decision of parliament and a shared national commitment of the Nepali people," he maintained.

He said the current government wanted to give Nepal’s relations with neighbouring and friendly countries a transformative direction based on mutual equality, respect, trust and economic partnership, without being constrained by prejudice, narrowness or unnecessary distrust.

“Achieving the country’s economic prosperity through clear, mature and results-oriented diplomacy while placing national interests above all else is the clear vision of the current government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Khanal said.

He said Nepal had always accorded high priority to relations with its neighbours and friendly countries, adding that high-level visits played an important role in strengthening bilateral ties. 

Published in The Rising Nepal on 16 September 2026.