MODI BUILDS ON OLD TIES WITH NEPAL
PM Narendra Modi greets his Nepal counterpart KP Oli at Janakpur’s Janaki temple.
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a ₹100-crore package to develop the holy city of Janakpur in Nepal, and said the country is at the top of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
Modi held extensive discussions with his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli and senior officials as part of efforts to reset bilateral ties, and the two sides reached a broad understanding on key issues ranging from crossborder connectivity to joint control of flooding along the frontier, officials said.
Meeting Oli twice within the space of one-and-a-half months, Modi assured that all genuine grievances of Nepal will be addressed in a time-bound manned. “India supports a united, prosperous and strong Nepal,” Modi said during a joint media interaction after Oli said Kathmandu wants a strong relationship underpinned by mutual trust that is not affected by “occasional or intermittent differences”.
However, the Indian side was silent on Nepal’s call to allow the exchange of demonetised Indian currency notes worth almost Rs 33.6 million held by the country’s banks and the public at the earliest, as well as a request to add four air routes via India.
Modi, on his third visit to Nepal since assuming office in 2014, and Oli flagged off a bus service between Janakpur and Ayodhya, two holy sites for Hindus. The service is part of the Ramayana Circuit to promote religious tourism.
Announcing the Rs 100-crore package, Modi said authorities in Nepal will select and implement development projects. Oli and Modi also jointly laid the foundation stone for the 900-MW Arun III hydropower project remotely from Kathmandu.