India-Nepal open border to continue after new constitution: Envoy

Nepal might proclaim its new constitution by the end of September and its international border policies with respect to India would not change thereafter, the Himalayan country's envoy here has said.

"The proclamation of the new constitution is supposed to be done by the end of September. Open borders with no passport and visa requirements will continue after the adoption of the new constitution," Nepalese Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay told IANS on the sidelines of an event organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

According to Upadhyay, the new constitution was aimed at strengthening Nepal's political framework.

About the problems the Nepalese government faced in relation to the adoption of the new constitution, he said: "The problems are regarding the boundaries of the new states within the federal structure."

Nepal has seen several protests after the government began drafting the new constitution.

The country's minority ethnic groups have argued that the new constitution, which aims at restructuring Nepal into a federal nation, would be discriminatory and and give them insufficient autonomy.

Under the proposed draft, Nepal would be divided into seven states or provinces.