The score of India-Nepal ties is wide, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said here on Friday.
He said the conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart
Sher Bahadur Deuba during Mr Modi’s May 16 visit will dwell on all aspects of
bilateral ties.
“….The talks between the two leaders will pick up from where they were left off last month;
to cover all aspects of our bilateral arrangements including connectivity projects, hydropower cooperation,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra told reporters.
He was addressing a special media briefing on PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal slated for May 16.
Mr Modi will pay an official visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at the invitation of
his counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.
This will be Prime Minister’s fifth visit to Nepal since 2014.
At Lumbini, the Prime Minister will visit the sacred Mayadevi temple to offer prayers. Mr Modi will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organized by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Government of Nepal, the MEA stated.
The Foreign Secretary said, “Hydropower is important (element in bilateral ties. India invested in hydropower in Nepal…It is very vast and both countries are in talks in this regard”.
Both the Prime Ministers will speak on that and take things forward.
The Foreign Secretary also said, “There are established mechanisms for border discussions with Nepal”.
He said, discussions on Pancheshwar project are ongoing and the project will be moving quickly. “During Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to India it was agreed that both sides will respect the
expertise and put it on fast track,” the Foreign Secretary said.
