India, Nepal agree to boost trade, people-to-people, connectivity ties
KATHMANDU: In what can be seen as a series of steps to mend their ties, India and Nepal on Saturday agreed to boost trade and economic links, connectivity via air, land and water, people-to-people ties, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring that his country will work like a sherpa in the Himalayan nation’s development endeavours.
A joint statement, issued a day after Modi and his Nepali counterpart K P Sharma Oli held extensive bilateral discussions here, said the two leaders agreed to maintain the momentum generated by Oli’s visit to India in April, his first foreign visit after assuming office in February, by taking effective measures for the implementation of all the agreements and understandings reached in the past.
“They also agreed that effective implementation of the bilateral initiatives in agriculture, railway linkages and inland waterways development, as agreed upon by the two sides during the recent visit of Prime Minister Oli to India, would have transformational impact in these areas,” it stated.
“While reviewing the close and multifaceted relations between the two countries at different levels, the two Prime Ministers reiterated their resolve to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights by strengthening ongoing cooperation in diverse spheres as well as expanding partnership for socio-economic development on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual trust, respect and mutual benefit.”
“The two Prime Ministers underscored the importance of trade and economic ties between India and Nepal,” it said.
Oli, while expressing concern over Nepal’s growing trade deficit with India, stated that measures to address this deficit need to be taken.