Establish mechanism to resolve boundary issue: Nepal PM Deuba to Modi
NEW DELHI: India and Nepal on Saturday unveiled a cross-border passenger train service and several other developmental initiatives to further broad-base ties even as Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba urged his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to establish a mechanism to resolve the contentious boundary issue.
After their wide-ranging talks, Modi and Deuba virtually inaugurated the 35 km railway network from Bihar’s Jaynagar to Kurtha in Nepal, launched a 90 km power transmission line and rolled out India’s RuPay payment card in Nepal.
Signalling a major reset of ties that came under severe strain after the boundary row escalated in 2020, the two sides also released a vision document for deepening cooperation in the power sector and inked four pacts providing for cooperation in areas of energy and railways.
In his media statement, Modi referred to the discussion on ensuring the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. “We discussed
that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. We emphasised on deepening of cooperation between our defence and security authorities. I am confident our talks today will be able to attain the objective of achieving the ambitious targets of India-Nepal ties.”
In his comments to the media in presence of Modi, Deuba said the boundary issue was discussed in the talks between the two sides and he urged the Modi to resolve it through the establishment of a bilateral mechanism.