Sushma, Mahat meet before Nepal PM visit
NEW DELHI: India and Nepal are looking at ways to mend their sour ties ahead of Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s four-day visit to the country from September 15.
The foreign ministers of the two countries held wide-ranging talks on Monday and decided to step up cooperation in security, energy and water resources.
During the talks between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her Nepalese counterpart Prakash Sharan Mahat, the two sides also discussed Prachanda’s upcoming visit. This will be his first foreign trip after assuming office last month.
“Both the ministers held wide ranging talks on issues of mutual interest, and covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the upcoming highlevel exchanges between the two countries,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
Stepping up ties in trade and mutual investments, defence and security, economic and development partnership, infrastructure development, energy and water resources, and forging connections to facilitate movement of goods and services, people and ideas were discussed.
The two countries were at loggerheads over the new Constitution in Nepal. There was a thaw in ties after the ouster of former prime minister KP Oli.
Kathmandu had then accused India of imposing an “unofficial blockade” in support of the Madhesis. Even after the normalisation of supply of goods from India, the bilateral ties continued to reel under strain after Oli accused India of toppling his government and creating political instability, a charge denied by India.
The ministry also said the “visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal will provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss issues of mutual interest, as well as seek ways to strengthen the age old, close and friendly ties between the two countries in diverse sectors”.