By Shanker Man Singh At the invitation of Indian External Affairs S. Jaishankar, Nepal's Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba paid an official visit to India from August 18 to 22. During the visit, FM Deuba had an opportunity to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi's willingness to meet Nepal's FM reflects his government's priority for Nepal. In recent days, India seems to have strained relations with many neighboring countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan and Myanmar. In a post on X, the Indian PM stated that India and Nepal share close ties of civilization and multilateral partnership. “Delighted to welcome Nepal's Foreign Minister @Arzuranadeuba. India and Nepal have a close civilizational relationship and a progressive and multifaceted partnership". "We look forward to continued momentum in our growth partnership. " Nepal-India cooperation including energy, trade, connectivity and infrastructure development has been discussed. “We are happy that Nepal is about to export nearly 1,000 MW of electricity to India, this is a new milestone." "Our neighborhood-first policy and unique people-to-people and cultural connections drive our relationship forward," Modi remarked. An Indian News reported that the two foreign ministers held bilateral talks on August 19, covering the full range of the India-Nepal bilateral partnership. The Foreign Ministers reviewed progress on various bilateral initiatives and development projects and discussed opportunities for further cooperation in existing and new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation. India and Nepal are close and friendly neighbors with deep historical, civilizational, cultural and people-to-people ties. Nepal has seen a steady pace in recent years in the implementation of India-assisted projects, particularly in the areas of physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity, infrastructure and other inter-related projects. Border railways, roads and bridges, integrated check posts, petroleum pipelines and digital financial connectivity. The two sides also noted progress in mutually beneficial partnerships in the area of ​​energy sector cooperation, where Nepal can now export 1,000 MW of electricity, creating an additional source of revenue for Nepal and clean energy for India. The two foreign ministers also mentioned that there are unprecedented opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector that will be available through the implementation of the long-term energy trade agreement. Keeping in mind that sports is emerging as another area of ​​cooperation between Nepal and India, the recent facilitation of training for the Nepalese cricket team at the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore is also welcomed. This is his first high-level visit to India from Nepal after the formation of the government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli last month. Furthermore, the visit has raised hopes for a solution to the recruitment of Gurkhas. Since recruitment was stopped due to Covid-19, not a single Nepali Gurkha has been recruited into the Indian Army since 2020. FM Deuba also raised the Pancheswar multi-purpose project along with transportation, transit, energy, connectivity, investment, air routes, and food. India has always been our major trading partner. Therefore, to make any trade policy successful, the Indian market and the mutual interest of both the countries must be kept in mind. Border railways, roads and bridges, integrated check posts, petroleum pipelines, and digital financial connectivity were discussed. Both sides also noted the progress made in the mutually beneficial partnership in the field of energy sector cooperation that Nepal can now export about 1000 megawatts of electricity, additional sources of revenue for Nepal and clean energy for India. To recapitulate, the  Joint Commission of Foreign Ministers between Nepal and India is the highest mechanism which gives authority to review and make decisions on all aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries as well as prepare a new blueprint. In addition to reviewing the overall aspects of Nepal-India relations in the meeting, it seems the agreements and understandings between Nepal and India during the Prime Minister's previous visit to India should be reviewed. The joint commission meeting was held in New Delhi some time ago after the border dispute between Kathmandu and New Delhi arose after the then KP Oli government published a new political map of Nepal including Kalapani and Lipulek areas. After that, this meeting was held in Nepal. The current Indian foreign minister had participated in that meeting. It can be expected that this visit will speed up this meeting in the days to come . In connection with the upcoming meeting of the Joint Commission, during the official visit of the Prime Minister of India or Nepal, cross-border infrastructure and connectivity, strengthening of development partnership and ongoing major projects will be discussed. It should also be expected that there will be a review of the initiative of the Nepal-India project, the construction of integrated check posts, the upgrading of railways, electricity transmission lines and roads and motorable bridges established in Nepal with Indian cooperation. In the meeting, there should also be a review of issues such as Dodhara-Chandni and the new integrated check post/international container depot, cross-border railways, roads and transmission lines, trade facilitation and speeding up the implementation of the proposed bilateral projects. People living in border areas face inundation problems especially due to embankment, inter-linking of canals and inadequate drainage systems. It is expected that Minister Rana's visit has widened the base of mutual friendship, understanding and trust between the respective countries. The visit also fulfilled to broaden contacts, develop goodwill and establish new areas of cooperation. In recent years, the Indian leadership has expressed its willingness to address Nepal's call for reciprocity in high-level visits. It is often and repeatedly said from the Indian side that it depends on Nepal what kind of relationship Nepal wants to develop and maintain with India. It is said that India is always open and ready to help in any field of mutual interest. Our leadership should try to win the goodwill of Indian leaders to address the problems faced by Nepal in the areas of commodity export growth, infrastructure development and addressing marketing barriers in bilateral, regional and global trade and this should be addressed. Nepal asked for an air route. However, it seems that there was no concrete agreement on this in the past. Nepal should insist on this again from the diplomatic level with cleverness and Minister Rana should have said that because she had discussed this matter with the Indian foreign secretary while he was in Nepal. Nepal will export electricity to Bihar for the first time through a medium-term electricity sale agreement. "The Central Electricity Authority of India has approved an additional 251 megawatts of electricity from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal for domestic trade," said a statement issued by the Indian embassy recently. A total of 941 MW electricity will go to India from 28 projects in the country. "Total sanctioned volume increased from 690 MW (16 projects) to 941 MW (28 projects)". Maintaining friendly relations with Nepal is important for India not only for its "Act East and Neighborhood First" policy but also for the peace and stability of the Northeast region. The country has been a key partner of India in various regional and sub-regional initiatives such as SAARC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) sub-regional initiative. Air routes and EPG reports, among others, are waiting for further assistance and they should be finalized. In 1991, the Joint Commission was established during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar to Nepal. SAARC can move forward only when India takes the lead and becomes positive. After achieving the decisive victory of Gathbandan, there is a general opinion that Oli should now show practicality and balance both in the country and India.