Kathmandu, Nov 5 India and Nepal on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to all-round enhancement of the bilateral partnership as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah and discussed possible outcomes and initiatives in the context of his upcoming visit to Delhi.
Foreign Secretary Misri called on PM Shah and conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a joint press release.
The Foreign Secretary “highlighted the wide-ranging engagement and overall progress in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation, and discussed possible outcomes and initiatives in the context of the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Shah to India,” it said.
Prime Minister Shah is expected to visit India later this month.
During the meeting at Singha Durbar, Foreign Secretary Misri said India has been making necessary preparations for the successful visit of Prime Minister Shah, the PM Office said in a statement here.
PM Shah expressed gratitude to the government of India for providing relief materials as the first responder after the devastating Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi flood and for providing assistance by sending a rescue team, the PMO statement said.
He expressed gratitude to PM Modi for his solidarity at a time when Nepal was suffering from the disaster, it said.
The Prime Minister also expressed interest in how Nepal can collaborate with India for the development of its sports sector.
Misri, who arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday, informed the Prime Minister that regular meetings of bilateral mechanisms are being successfully conducted in areas such as energy, water resources, trade and transit and civil aviation.
He also said that necessary preparations have been completed regarding the operation of the railway line between Ayodhya and Janakpur in Nepal.
The two sides “reaffirmed their commitment to all-round enhancement of the bilateral partnership,” the joint press release said.
Misri held delegation-level talks with Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai on Wednesday, during which they reviewed ongoing cooperation across diverse sectors and discussed ways to further strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between Nepal and India, it said.
He also separately met Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal; Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle; Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha; and Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal.
Misri also met the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party’s president Rabi Lamichhane on Thursday and discussed bilateral relations, according to party sources.
He also interacted with a group of parliamentarians, including members of the Nepal-India Parliamentary Friendship Group and Nepal’s Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Tourism.
During various engagements, the Nepali leadership expressed gratitude for India’s swift and substantial humanitarian and technical assistance in the aftermath of the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi floods, the joint release said.
Both sides noted with satisfaction the growing engagement in recent times in traditionally strong areas of bilateral cooperation, including trade and commerce, development partnership, hydropower, physical connectivity, border management, energy, and people-to-people ties, as well as newer avenues for collaboration including start-ups, digital connectivity, AI and sports, it said.
“The visit of the Foreign Secretary of India continued the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries to further advance close bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation,” the release added.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.
In May, the bilateral relations came under some unease following Shah’s remarks seeking involvement of China and the UK to address the long-standing border dispute between India and Nepal.
New Delhi categorically rejected any role for third parties to resolve its boundary row with Nepal, saying the two countries have an established bilateral mechanism to deal with all aspects of the border issue.
Nepal and India have had an old boundary dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India has consistently maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand.
(PTI News)
