Nepalindia panel to review status of relations, projects

KATHMANDU: The fourth meeting of the Nepal-india Joint Commission will focus on implementing bilateral agreements against the backdrop of India-funded projects running into rough weather.

The joint commission is the highest mechanism to review the gamut of bilateral ties and chart the future course of ties. “The meeting will make a comprehensive review of bilateral ties,” Nepal’s foreign minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said on Tuesday. “We want to see tangible progress on India-funded projects in Nepal and want the early execution of pending works in such projects.”

The joint commission meeting in New Delhi on Thursday will be preceded by foreign secretarylevel talks on Wednesday.

The commission was formed in 1987 and its last meeting was held in Kathmandu in July 2014 after a gap of 23 years. The upcoming meeting will review progress on issues that figured at the last meet and other high-level exchanges. Nepal and Indian recently formed a joint mechanism to expedite projects funded by New Delhi that have not made tangible progress. Mahat said bilateral issues such as Indiafunded roads, cross-border connectivity through rail, roads and bridges, water resources, security matters, boundary problems, completing the project report for the Pancheshwor Development Authority are some of the key items on the agenda.

The Indian side is keen on taking up security-related matters such as signing an extradition