New Delhi, June 6: India and Nepal share a “special” relationship and there is an opportunity to “decisively” shift the engagement to realise its full potential, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday during a meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Shishir Khanal.
The two ministers vowed to take the bilateral ties to “new heights” while reviewing the full spectrum of the relations, covering development cooperation, connectivity, trade and transit, energy, and people-to-people ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The Nepalese foreign minister also held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Khanal kicked off a three-day trip to New Delhi on Friday to strengthen bilateral ties, a visit overshadowed by a raging controversy triggered by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s recent remarks on the boundary row between the two sides.
Delving into various aspects of the bilateral ties, the external affairs minister reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “sentiment regarding India’s commitment to working with Nepal for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of the two countries.” In his comments at the meeting, Khanal said Nepal accords “highest priority” to its relationship with India and the Shah-led government is ready to engage “substantively and purposefully” with New Delhi.
“We carry no old baggage and have only firm resolve for a genuinely transformative relationship with our close neighbour and the most important partner,” he said.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
“The discussions were held in a warm, friendly and constructive atmosphere, reflecting the unique and special ties between the two countries,” the MEA said.
Following the meeting, Jaishankar virtually handed over 72 health facilities and 12 cultural heritage projects completed under India’s post-2015 earthquake reconstruction assistance to Nepal.
The two ministers also jointly launched the linkage between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Nepal’s National Payments Interface (NPI) to facilitate personal remittances between the two countries.
Jaishankar and Khanal welcomed the completion of internal processes for the entry into force of the India-Nepal Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in criminal matters (MLAA).
The agreement will benefit the people of India and Nepal by providing an institutional legal framework to enhance the effectiveness of investigation, prosecution and judicial proceedings relating to cross-border crimes, the MEA said.
The two ministers expressed “satisfaction” over the progress achieved in bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors and welcomed recent initiatives to enhance cooperation in areas of innovation, startups, digital and financial technology and capacity building, it said.
The MEA said the ministers agreed to intensify efforts towards further enhancing the multifaceted India-Nepal partnership to take it to “new heights” and exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Jaishankar described his talks with Khanal as “productive” and said the detailed discussions on the “unique” India-Nepal partnership covered development cooperation, connectivity, energy, education, health, capacity building, culture and sports. (PTI)
