By Our Reporter
Indian foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day official visit to Nepal on Monday and returned home on Tuesday after meeting over a dozen political leaders including Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal. Kwatra met PM Dahal twice.
He remained busy throughout the day on the first day of his visit. He called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML Chairman KP Oli. He also paid a courtesy call to Foreign Minister Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal and held a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal.
He paid a courtesy call to Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Paudyal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singha Durbar, in the afternoon.
After the meeting, Minister Dr Paudyal said they discussed increasing cooperation between the two countries and strengthening the bilateral ties.
She informed that they also discussed new air routes for the Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara International Airport.
According to a press statement issued by the secretariat of Minister Paudyal, various aspects of Nepal-India relations were discussed in the meeting. They discussed issues ranging from increasing the development aid to creating an environment for investment, connectivity, solving the problem seen in both countries, and energy trade.
The two also discussed the issue of climate change and its impact on South Asian countries.
The Indian Foreign Secretary who arrived in Nepal at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal also called on Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Rajendra Lingden and CPN (Unified Socialist) chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday.
Earlier on Monday, Kwatra participated in a secretary-level meeting immediately after he arrived in Kathmandu.
In the meeting, the two foreign secretaries discussed various aspects of the multi-dimensional collaboration between Nepal and India, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
This is Kwatra’s first visit to Nepal after assuming the responsibility of the foreign Secretary of India. Before he was appointed foreign secretary, Kwatra served as Indian Ambassador to Nepal.
Login to add a comment