During a meeting on Monday in Kathmandu, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as "Prachanda," and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra addressed cooperation in a variety of areas, including energy, trade, and connectivity.
Kwatra is the first senior Indian official to visit Kathmandu since Prachanda formed administration in December, and he is there for a two-day visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Bharat Raj Paudyal. Additionally, Kwatra is making his first independent trip to Nepal since being appointed foreign secretary in May of last year.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, Prachanda and the other party discussed bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy, trade, connectivity, agriculture, education, and culture during their meeting. At a time that worked for both parties, Kwatra invited Prachanda to visit India.
The Indian embassy in Kathmandu said that talks between Kwatra and Prachanda about bilateral issues in a variety of fields, including economic and development cooperation, were fruitful.
Prachanda has previously stated that India will be his first foreign destination. According to those with knowledge of the situation, the visit won't take place until after Nepal elects its new president and vice president on March 9 and 19, respectively.
The Indian embassy in Nepal tweeted that Kwatra and his counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal discussed "the wide-ranging India-Nepal collaboration" at a previous meeting. "Both parties decided to further strengthen their economic and development cooperation for the benefit of the two countries and the region as a whole," the statement continued.
According to Nepal's foreign ministry, the two foreign secretaries discussed cooperation in the power sector, agriculture, education, culture, health, and people-to-people ties as well as connectivity projects such rail linkages, electricity transmission lines, bridges, and integrated check posts (ICPs).
Paudyal commended the Indian government for delivering dialysis machines, removing limitations on the export of food grains, and providing fertilisers. The two parties talked about completing a new transit treaty quickly, reviewing the trade treaty, and quickly convening the Inter-governmental Committee on Trade (IGC), according to the foreign ministry.
The two parties also discussed early approval of four proposed transmission line projects under a line of credit and the technical upgrade of cross-border transmission lines.
Paudyal reaffirmed Nepal's demand for more flight paths and prompt approval for flights departing from Bhairahawa's Gautam Buddha International Airport to places on the Indian border.
On Monday, Kwatra also had meetings with the president Bidya Devi Bhandari and the foreign minister Bimala Rai Paudyal. Kwatra sent pleasantries on behalf of President Droupadi Murmu when he met with Bhandari at Sheetal Niwas. During his meeting with foreign minister Paudyal, Kwatra and Paudyal engaged in a "fruitful exchange on developing the comprehensive India-Nepal relations," according to a subsequent tweet from the Indian embassy.
According to the sources mentioned above, Kwatra and Foreign Minister Paudyal discussed issues like increased development assistance for Nepal, an atmosphere that encourages investment, fixing connectivity issues, and bilateral trade.
Comments
Post a Comment