New Delhi: Extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba were forward-looking, positive and covered the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla here on Saturday.
At a special media briefing after the talks between the two leaders, the Foreign Secretary said that India’s ties with its neighbour Nepal were marked by the open border, kinship, people-to-people relations and culture and Nepal has a special place in India’s Neighbourhood First policy.
He said the talks covered political, security, development, trade, commerce, and connectivity areas.
Prime Minister Deuba was accompanied by a high-level delegation of ministers holding charge of Health, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Agriculture portfolios as well as officials and captains of industry.
The Nepalese Prime Minister arrived in the Capital on Friday on his first visit abroad since he assumed office in July 2021. This is his fifth visit to India as the Prime Minister of Nepal in his earlier stints.
In his media statement, Prime Minister Modi said the relationship between India and Nepal was unique and could not be found in any other part of the world. He said India had remained a firm companion in Nepal’s journey for peace, prosperity and development.
The Foreign Secretary said that both the Prime Ministers discussed unprecedented opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector. A Joint Vision Statement on Power Sector cooperation that spells out the shared commitment, as well as opportunities for win-win collaboration in power generation, transmission and trade, was concluded during the visit.
Both Prime Ministers jointly inaugurated the 90 km long 132 KVDC Solu Corridor Transmission line and substation built under the Line of Credit extended by India. Both sides agreed to expedite progress in the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, beginning with the early finalization of the Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Prime Minister Modi welcomed Nepal’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), with Nepal, on April 1, 2022, becoming the 105th country to become a signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA.
Both Prime Ministers also exchanged views on the economic and trade agenda and decided to accelerate action to further deepen and facilitate trade, investment and connectivity linkages.
The two leaders discussed the wide-ranging and robust bilateral development partnership. They reviewed the progress in the implementation of Indian projects in Nepal, including the cross-border rail-link projects connecting (a) Jayanagar-Kurtha-Bijalpur-Bardibas (b) Jogbani-Biratnagar (c) Raxaul-Kathmandu. In a historic milestone, the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting India and Nepal in the Jayanagar-Kurtha section was flagged off by the two Prime Ministers during the visit. The Jayanagar-Kurtha rail link has been built with grant assistance from the Government of India.
The use of Indian RuPay card in Nepal was jointly launched by the two Prime Ministers. This would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages between India and Nepal.
Prime Minister Deuba will visit Varanasi on Sunday, a city that symbolizes the deep religious and cultural links between the two countries. He will be received at Varanasi by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who will also accompany him during this leg of his stay.