■ NEW DELHI,
We will strive to take India-Nepal ties to Himalayan heights: PM Modi
PRIME Minister Narendra
Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal
‘Prachanda’ on Thursday
vowed to resolve the vexed
boundary dispute under the
spirit of friendship even as the
two sides signed several major
pacts including one on increasing New Delhi’s import of power from the neighbouring country to 10,000 mega watt in the
next 10 years.
In the wide-ranging talks between
Modi and Prachanda, the Indian side
agreed to the firsttri lateral powertrade
from Nepal to Bangladesh through
India for up to 40 mega watt of power,amove that is seen as a significant
steptowards ensuring greaterregional cooperation.
Modi also said India will continue
to strive to take the relationship with
Nepal to Himalayan heights.
In total,India and Nepal signedseven pacts which included a revised
treaty oftransitthat was described by
Foreign Secretary Viny Kwatra as
“once in a generation kind of an agreement”a sit would provide Nepalaccess
to inland waterways of India for the
first time and expected to contribute
very significantly to expansion of trade
and investment linkages.
The two sides also firmed up several new initiatives to expand cooperation in areas of hydro-electric power, petroleum infrastructure, railway
connectivity, cross-border payment
systems and trade and investment as
part of afuturistic approachto expand
the overall trajectory of bilateral ties.
In his media statement, Modi said
he and Prachanda took many important decisions to make the partnership between the two countries a
“super hit” in the future.
“We will continue to strive to take
our relationship to Himalayan heights.
And in this spirit, we will resolve all
the issues, be it boundary related or
any other issue,” Modi said in his
media statement in presence of
Prachanda. In his comments, the
Nepalese prime minister said he and
Modi discussed the boundary matter.
“I urge prime minister Modi-ji to
resolve the boundary matterthrough
the established bilateral diplomatic
mechanism,” he said.
Ties between the two countries
came under severe strain after
Kathmandu published a new political map in 2020 that showed three
Indian territories -- Limpiyadhura,
Kalapani and Lipulekh -- as part of
Nepal.