Kathmandu: Preparations for the upcoming official visit of Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Balendra Shah to India featured prominently during a meeting between Prime Minister Shah and Indian Foreign Secretary H.E. Vikram Misri at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Kathmandu on Thursday, November 5.
During the meeting, Foreign Secretary Misri conveyed greetings from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed possible outcomes and initiatives to be pursued during Prime Minister Shah’s forthcoming visit to India.
According to a joint press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Embassy, the Indian Foreign Secretary highlighted the wide-ranging engagement and overall progress in various areas of bilateral cooperation between Nepal and India.
The discussions focused on further advancing the longstanding partnership between the two neighbouring countries and exploring new avenues of cooperation in the context of the Prime Minister’s upcoming India visit.
Foreign Secretary Misri was on an official visit to Nepal from November 4 to 5 at the cordial invitation of Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.
During his visit, Misri also called on Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, and Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal.
The two Foreign Secretaries held delegation-level talks on November 4, reviewing ongoing cooperation across various sectors and discussing ways to further strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between Nepal and India.
Misri also interacted with a group of parliamentarians, including members of the Nepal-India Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Tourism.
During the engagements, the Nepali leadership expressed appreciation for India’s swift and substantial humanitarian and technical assistance following the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river corridor flood on August 26.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the growing engagement in traditional areas of cooperation, including trade and commerce, development partnership, hydropower, physical connectivity, border management, energy and people-to-people relations.
They also discussed emerging areas of collaboration, including start-ups, digital connectivity, artificial intelligence and sports, reaffirming their commitment to the overall enhancement of bilateral relations.
The visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary was part of the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between Nepal and India aimed at further strengthening their close ties of friendship and cooperation, the joint press release stated.
Misri wrapped up his two-day visit and returned to New Delhi on Thursday, November 5.
