Will take ties with Nepal to Himalayan heights: PM Modi after talks with Prachanda
India and Nepal will strive to take their bilateral ties to Himalayan heights and resolve all matters, including the boundary issue, in this spirit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday after holding wide-ranging talks with his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda.
In his media statement after the meeting, Modi said he and Prachanda had taken many important decisions to make the partnership between the two countries a “super hit” in the future.
Following the talks, Modi and Prachanda jointly launched several infrastructure projects.
The two sides also signed seven agreements to boost cooperation in several areas including trade and energy.
The two leaders virtually inaugurated integrated check posts at Rupaidiha in India and Nepalgunj in Nepal. They also virtually flagged off a cargo train from Bathnaha in Bihar to Nepal custom yard.
“We will continue to strive to take our relationship to Himalayan heights. And in this spirit, we will resolve all the issues, be it boundary related or any other issue,” Modi said in presence of Prachanda.
#WATCH | Delegation level talks led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ underway, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/shyB3iLXe2
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2023
To further strengthen cultural and religious ties, PM Prachanda and I decided that projects related to the Ramayana circuit should be expedited, he added.
The Nepalese prime minister began his four-day visit to India on Wednesday (May 31).
It is the first bilateral trip abroad by the 68-year-old Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) leader after he assumed the top office in December 2022.
Also read: India, Nepal likely to ink number of pacts after Modi-Prachanda talks
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 which refers to cross-border marriages between people of the two countries.
The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Land-locked Nepal relies on India for access to the sea
Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.
The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations between the two countries.
Also read: Nepalese PM Prachanda arrives in India on 4-day visit
Nepalese Foreign Minister NP Saud, who is part of Prachanda’s delegation, said on Wednesday (May 31) that a wide range of issues including trade, transit, connectivity, and the border issues would figure in the bilateral talks.
(With agency inputs)
