Spread the love

By Sharachchandra Bhandary 

Kathmandu,27 November: After months-long pause in bilateral visits and dialogue in the wake of souring tensions between Nepal and India especially over the boundary issues, the high-level diplomatic officials of Nepal and India have reiterated their commitment to taking centuries-old Nepal -India relations to a newer heights by deepening mutual trusts and cooperation to best suit the 21st century.

Such a commitment was made in the foreign secretary-level meeting held in Kathmandu after a gap of almost one year, on Thursady signaling of rapprochement between the two countries. At different programme  organized on Thursday itself, India has committed to firmly strengthen her  relations with Nepal that has historical and civilizationl linkages. After handing over 2,000 vile remdisiver injections to Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali at the ministry, Indian External Affairs Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the secretary-level meeting and the talks with Minister Gyawali were fruitful. “We reviewed the issues of bilateral cooperation and discussed different areas of mutual interests. We are committed to further deepening and strengthening relations with Nepal,” the Indian External Affairs Secretary said.
He shared that during the meeting an agreement was made to forward the projects of mutual benefits to further bolster bilateral cooperation and collaborations as per the commitment of the political leaderships of both the countries. Stating that the meeting was fruitful with relevant discussions, Secretary Shringla informed that they also exchanged views on wide range of issues covering the bilateral ties between India and Nepal. He said, “We appreciated the progress achieved in the bilateral projects and agreed to step up efforts to advance mutual cooperation.”
During the meeting with Minister Gyawali and secretary Paudyal, Shringla said that he had reaffirmed the commitment of the Indian government to support Nepal’s efforts in fighting the Covid-19 and said that the vaccine to be developed in India would be availed to Nepal and other neighboring countries with topmost priority.
The visiting Indian foreign secretary added that the meeting underscored on bilateral, regional and international cooperation and collaboration to tide over the Coronavirus infection. He also mentioned that  bilateral trade  and smooth  supply of essential items had taken place unabatedly even during the  strict lockdown, he clarified that he was ready to work closely with the Nepali authorities to make Indo-Nepal relation more dynamic.

Minister Gyawali opined that Shringla’s visit was helpful in further strengthening Indo-Nepal ties and said the meeting had laid a solid foundation for enabling an environment of trust to address the outstanding issues between the two countries. He gratitude to the government of India for generously providing Remdesivir injection against Covid-19  despite have trying times in India itself and expressed the hope  that it would be very useful to save precious lives.
Issues related to multifaceted Indo-Nepal relations were discussed. Issues concerned with security, border, trade, energy, infrastructure development, water resources, EPG reports among others were discussed in delegation level meeting . Nepali side had focused on not affecting developmental projects due to border issues, forwarding the construction of information and communication technology, inter country communication network and integrated check posts, ICT among other issues.

They reviewed various aspects of Nepal-India relations covering trade, transit, connectivity, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, investment, culture, people to people relations, among others. They discussed ways to strengthen the strong cultural and civilizational bonds that exist between the two countries and further build on the solid foundation of the multifaceted friendly relations for the benefit of the two countries and peoples.

The two sides also reviewed with satisfaction the progress made with regard to the bilateral cooperation projects, including the key connectivity projects and post-earthquake reconstruction work.They also discussed the boundary matters and exchanged views on completing the boundary work in the remaining segments.
The two sides shared their experiences on the efforts made to fight against Covid-19 pandemic. They discussed matters related to cooperation in the context of the progress made by India towards the development of Covid-19 vaccines.
Nepali side also had urged Indian side to support in the construction of integrated check post in Bhairahawa. It is stated that the Indian side had positively responded to Nepal’s proposal over the issue. Indian side is developing integrated check posts along the Indo-Nepal border keeping all issues related to immigration and customs aimed at easing the bilateral trades. Such integrated check posts have come into operation in Raxaul-Birgunj, Jogbani-Biratnagar . The meeting is expected to further thaw Indo-Nepal relations placated due to border disputes in Lipulek, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura .

People’s News Monitoring Service