Security, flood control, power transmission and improving connectivity were some of the high points of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba during their bilateral talks on Thursday.
As Modi raised concern over misuse of open borders between the two countries, Deuba assured that Nepal will never allow any anti-India activities from its soil and pledged his support to the long-standing friendship and understanding with India.
India and Nepal signed eight agreements out of which four related to the rebuilding and reconstruction of 50,000 houses, 70 schools, 157 medical centres and 28 places of cultural and heritage importance that were destroyed during the massive earthquake in the Himalayan country in April last.
The other four agreements were with regard to construction of Mechi bridge in Nepal to improve connectivity, cooperation in countering drug trafficking, cooperation in the field of Standardisation and Conformity Assessment, and MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal.
Modi made two important announcements with regard to providing assistance for the construction of a technical institute at Dhangarhi in Nepal and GP Koirala National Centre for Respiratory Diseases.
The two countries will also together develop the Ramayana and Buddhist circuits to boost tourism and people-to-people contact.
later, Modi and Deuba jointly inaugurated the Kataiya-Kusaha and Raxaul-Parwanipur cross border power transmission lines.
This is Deuba’s first visit abroad after taking over. Sources said the warmth and bonhomie in the relation between the two leaders was clearly visible and the atmosphere was highly pleasant during the discussions.
It is learnt that the Indian side asked the Nepalese leadership to prioritise the areas in which they would like India to support them.
Modi identified defence, security and flood management as the important aspects of bilateral discussions. India supports Nepal in training and capacity building of its Army and security forces and this engagement will be further increased at different levels.
Both sides also agreed that that the open borders should not be allowed to be misused, posing threat to security.
“Defence and security cooperation is a very important aspect of our partnership. Close cooperation between the defence and security agencies of the two countries is very crucial to prevent misuse of our open borders and ensure the safety of the peoples of our two countries,” Modi said in his statement before the media after the talks.
later, in his media statement, Deuba asserted that Nepal would never allow any anti-India activities from its soil.
With both countries facing the wrath of floods it was decided to increase consultation and coordination between the two sides on flood management. “In this regard joint visits from both sides will take place to find a sustainable, long-term solution to the flood problem,” Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said after the talks.
Apart from reviewing the ongoing projects, both sides discussed ten new areas of possible bilateral cooperation. These included two new rail projects in Nepal, construction of international airport, building more motorable roads on Mahakali river, construction of dry ports, creating Special Economic Zones at the border and having more cross-border electricity transmission lines to help Nepal meet its growing electricity demands. It was decided to expedite the finalisation of the Detailed Project Report of Pancheshwar hydropower project.
Improving bilateral trade was another area of discussion. On the important issue of Nepal’s Constitution amendment, Deuba assured Modi that his Government is making all efforts to ensure their Constitution is amended to meet the aspirations of all sections of the Nepalese society and in particular the Madhesis who believe they have got a raw deal. India has constantly advised Nepal to have an inclusive Constitution that left no scope for grievances and addressed the aspirations of all sections of Nepalese society. Talking about the Constitutions Amendment Bill (second amendment) that failed to get through the Nepalese parliament recently, Deuba said he is hopeful that the amendments will finally be passed.