Nepal will not allow its territory to be used against neighbours

The comments, which were part of a Cabinet decision, came a day after Nepal's Parliament ratified the contentious US-funded $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact

The Nepal government on Monday reiterated that it would not allow any activity against its friendly and neighbouring countries, including India and China, on its territory.

The comments, which were part of a Cabinet decision, came a day after Nepal's Parliament ratified the contentious US-funded USD 500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact along with an Interpretive Declaration a day ahead of the February 28 deadline set by Washington, ending months of debates, protests and polarisation in the Himalayan nation.

The MCC is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the US Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID.

Nepal's political parties were sharply divided on whether to accept the US grant assistance under the MCC agreement.

The MCC also dragged Nepal into a geopolitical game, with Beijing taking a jibe at Washington for providing a "gift" to Nepal with an ultimatum, for a second time in a week, firstly warning the US against using coercive diplomacy in Nepal.

On Monday, the Nepal government, during the cabinet meeting, expressed thanks to all, including the Speaker, members of the House of Representative (HoR), political parties in the ruling alliance, the oppositional party, and other parties for facilitating to create an enabling atmosphere to endorse the MCC compact from the HoR on February 27.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Monday took a decision to this effect. "Nepal would not allow its territory to be used against any friendly and neighbouring countries including China and India," stated the cabinet decision.

The Cabinet meeting stated that the essence of Nepal's foreign policy is to keep friendly relations with all the countries, according to government spokesman and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki.

The Cabinet meeting also thanked all the friendly countries, donor agencies, regional and international organisations for their significant support in Nepal's socio-economic development.