Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal and his Indian counterpart Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a bilateral meeting in Kathmandu

Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal and his Indian counterpart Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a bilateral meeting in Kathmandu today.

During the meeting, the two Foreign Secretaries reviewed various aspects of Nepal-India relations covering connectivity, trade and transit, power sector cooperation, agriculture, education, culture, health sector and people to people relations, among others.

The two sides reviewed with satisfaction the progress made in the connectivity projects such as railways, transmissions lines, bridges and the ICPs. The
Foreign Secretary of Nepal thanked the Government of India for the supply of fertilizers, easing of export restrictions on food grains, and delivery of dialysis machines.

The two sides discussed the early conclusion of the renewed transit treaty, review of the trade treaty, and convening of the Inter-governmental Committee on Trade (IGC) at an early date.

The two sides also expressed commitment to allow export of power from Nepal to India on long-term basis utilizing all products of the exchange market. They also discussed technical upgrading of cross-border transmission lines and early approval of the four proposed transmission line projects under the LOC-IV.

The Foreign Secretary of Nepal reiterated the request of the Government of Nepal for additional air-entry routes as well as early concurrence of the near border flight operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport, Bhairahawa.

The two Foreign Secretaries also discussed the boundary matters. In this regard, they exchanged views on completing the boundary works in the remaining segments through the established bilateral mechanisms.

They also agreed to finalize the MoU between foreign service academies of the two countries.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of friendship and cordiality reflecting the close and multifaceted relations between the two neighbours.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal hosted luncheon in honour of the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary and the members of his delegation.

In the afternoon today, Foreign Secretary Kwatra called on Rt. Hon. President Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari, Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal. Matters of mutual interests were discussed during the calls on.

The Foreign Secretary of India arrived in Kathmandu this morning and is scheduled to depart tomorrow, 14 February 2023