Tripartite meeting narrowed differences on Frontier Nagaland Territory proposal—ENPO

DIMAPUR — The third tripartite high-level meeting between the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO), the government of India, and the government of Nagaland on the proposed Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT) was held on July 23 in New Delhi.

According to an ENPO statement received here on Friday, the meeting, convened at the new Ministry of Home Affairs office complex at Janpath, saw “major contentious issues” on the FNT proposal being resolved.

“This tripartite meeting could resolve major contentious issues on FNT and had narrowed down the differences, except for some points to be settled from the side of the State government of Nagaland,” the statement read.

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The Government of India’s delegation was led by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and included Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Tapan Deka, Additional Secretary (Home, Northeast) Piyush Goyal, Adviser (Northeast) A.K. Mishra, Joint Secretary (Northeast) Niraj Kumar Bansod, and Joint Director (IB) Rakesh Kamble.

The Nagaland government was represented by Home Commissioner Anoop Khinchi and Joint Resident Commissioner Sharon Longchari. The ENPO team was led by its president, Chingmak Chang.

ENPO stated that central officials had shown “serious and practical” engagement with the issue and confirmed that significant progress had been made. The Union Home Secretary is said to have asked the Nagaland government’s representatives “to resolve some of their stands within a fortnight.”

The next tripartite meeting is expected to take place in August.

ENPO expressed optimism that the remaining differences would be addressed at the earliest to avoid further delay in the establishment of the Frontier Nagaland Territory. It also acknowledged the support of churches and individuals who have offered prayers and logistical assistance throughout the process.