Indian envoy meets Nepal's foreign minister, discusses bilateral ties

India's outgoing Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava on Wednesday met Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and discussed the progress made in bilateral ties during his nearly four-year tenure.

Srivastava called on Khanal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singhdurbar as he prepares to conclude his tenure in Nepal.

“Honoured to call on Hon. Foreign Minister Mr Shisir Khanal for a farewell meeting. Conveyed appreciation for his continued support for strengthening multifaceted ties,” Srivastava said in a post on X.

The ambassador said significant progress had been made in recent years in deepening the India-Nepal partnership across areas including energy, infrastructure connectivity and people-to-people ties.

According to Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khanal thanked India for its solidarity and swift disaster-relief assistance following the devastating flash floods in the Bhotekoshi River.

India had extended support for search, rescue and relief operations following the floods, which were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26.

The disaster left nearly 1,400 people dead and more than 5,000 missing, according to the Nepalese authorities.

Khanal congratulated Srivastava on the successful completion of his tenure and appreciated his efforts to further strengthen multifaceted Nepal-India relations.

“He highlighted major milestones in energy cooperation, trade, and infrastructure connectivity as well as people-to-people relations,” the Nepalese Foreign Ministry said.

Khanal also wished Srivastava success in his future endeavours and expressed confidence that he would continue to remain a good friend of Nepal.

Srivastava, in turn, thanked the Nepalese government for the support and cooperation extended to him during his tenure and expressed hope that bilateral relations would continue to flourish.

Srivastava has served as India's ambassador to Nepal since June 2022.

He also paid a farewell call on Nepal's Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.

Rai appreciated Srivastava's contribution to strengthening Nepal-India ties and his role in advancing cooperation in energy, cross-border infrastructure and people-to-people relations, the ministry said.

He also extended his best wishes to Srivastava for his future endeavours.