India, Nepal agree to boost economic and development tie

PTI, Kathmandu, Feb 13, 2023 : India and Nepal agreed on Monday to further bolster their economic and development cooperation as Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met his Nepalese counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal and also held productive discussions with the country’s top leadership on strengthening the comprehensive bilateral relations.

Kwatra arrived here on a two-day official visit to hold talks with the country’s top leaders on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Soon after his arrival here, Kwatra met his Nepalese counterpart Paudyal and reviewed the wide-ranging India-Nepal partnership, the Indian embassy tweeted.

“Both sides agreed to further strengthen their economic and development cooperation for benefit of the two countries and region as a whole,” it said.

Foreign Secretary Kwatra called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and held productive discussions on bilateral issues across various sectors, including economic and development cooperation, the embassy tweeted.

Kwatra also paid a courtesy call on Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Sheetal Niwas and conveyed the greetings on behalf of President of India Droupadi Murmu.

Earlier, he called on Foreign Minister of Nepal Bimala Rai Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations.

Kwatra called on Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations, the Indian mission tweeted.

“Various aspects of Nepal-India relations including the power sector cooperation, trade, transit, education, culture, healthcare and connectivity infrastructure were discussed during the meeting,” Nepal’s foreign ministry tweeted.

During their discussions, Paudyal urged the Indian foreign secretary to provide an international air route for the effective operation of the newly opened Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara International Airport, sources close to Paudyal said.

Issues such as increasing development assistance to Nepal, boosting investment, resolving problems surfacing in connectivity, and bilateral trade as well as the promotion of power trade mainly featured during the meeting.

Paudyal also proposed to form a mechanism for a common voice of the South Asian nations in the international forums regarding climate change issues.

During his visit, Kwatra, who was earlier India’s ambassador here, is expected to discuss with his Nepalese interlocutors the possibility of a visit to India by Prime Minister Prachanda.

Prachanda has said that he will travel to India on his first foreign visit.

During Kwatra’s visit, Nepal and India will discuss various matters of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health and culture among others, Nepal’s foreign ministry said here on Sunday.

“The visit is in continuation of the regular exchange of visits between the two friendly neighbours,” it said.

Seven members each from Nepal and India took part in the Foreign Secretary-level bilateral meeting. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was among the members of the Indian delegation while Joint Secretary and spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry Sewa Lamsal was among the members of the Nepalese delegation.

This is the first high-level visit from India after Prime Minister Prachanda assumed office for the third time in December.

Kwatra is also expected to meet Nepal’s top political leaders, including Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday.

“The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy,” the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy is an integral component of Indian foreign policy. The policy seeks to build cordial and synergetic relations with India’s South Asian neighbours in various areas such as economy, science and technology, research and education, among others.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.

Nepal shares a border of more than 1,850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.