“Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra met his counterpart Mr Bharat Raj Paudyal and reviewed the wide-ranging India-Nepal partnership,” the Indian embassy here tweeted.
“Both sides agreed to further strengthen their economic and development cooperation for benefit of the two countries and region as a whole,” it said.
Later, Kwatra called on Foreign Minister of Nepal Bimala Rai Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations.
“Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra called on Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Nepal @bimalarp today and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations,” the mission tweeted.
During his visit, Kwatra, who was earlier India’s ambassador here, will pay courtesy calls to Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Foreign Minister Paudyal.
It is expected that Kwatra will also discuss with his Nepalese interlocutors the possibility of a visit to India by Nepal’s Prime Minister Prachanda. Prachanda has said that he will travel to India on his first foreign visit. Nepal and India will discuss various matters of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health and culture among others during the foreign secretary’s visit, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s foreign ministry here on Sunday.
“The visit is in continuation of the regular exchange of visits between the two friendly neighbours,” it said.
Earlier, Kwatra was received at Tribhuvan International Airport by his Nepalese counterpart Paudyal upon arrival.
He had a one-to-one meeting with Paudyal before the delegation level meeting started.
Seven members each from Nepal and India took part in the Foreign Secretary level bilateral meeting. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was among the members of the Indian delegation while Joint Secretary and spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry Sewa Lamsal was among the members of the Nepalese delegation.
This is the first high-level visit from India after Prime Minister Prachanda assumed office for the third time in December.
Kwatra is also expected to meet Nepal’s top political leaders, including Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli.
“The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy,” the Ministry of External Affairs has said.
India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy is an integral component of Indian foreign policy. The policy seeks to build cordial and synergetic relations with India’s South Asian neighbours in various areas such as economy, science and technology, research and education, among others.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
The country shares a border of more than 1,850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.