Nepal's new govt carries no 'old baggage' against India, says Khanal

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that India and Nepal collaborate closely to maintain security along their long and uniquely open border and the two countries have always stood by each other in times of need. In his opening remarks during a meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Shisir Khanal on Saturday in New Delhi, Dr Jaishankar said, India and Nepal share a very special relationship, one that is built on a strong foundation of vibrant people-to-people ties, cross-border connectivity, and shared cultural and religious traditions. He conveyed best wishes for the success of the government in Nepal. The External Affairs Minister said, there are strong complementarities between the objectives outlined by the Nepal government and the initiatives that India has taken in the neighbourhood. He said, the bilateral ties have steadily developed in areas like trade, commerce, investments, energy, development cooperation, education, disaster response, and culture. He added that today both sides have an opportunity to also take it forward in many other areas, in newer domains like startups, AI, information technology, renewable energy, and others.
In his initial remarks, Khanal said, India is Nepal’s most important partner and Nepal has placed highest priority to India. He said, Nepal and India are not merely two countries but stakeholders of a proud ancient civilization. The Foreign Affairs Minister of Nepal thanked India for fuel and fertilisers supply amid West Asia crisis. Nepal does not carry any old baggage against India and is determined to build a genuinely transformative relationship with its “close neighbor and most important partner,” said Khanal.
On the occasion, Dr Jaishankar virtually handed over 72 health facilities and 12 cultural heritage projects under Reconstruction Programme post 2015 Earthquake. Both Ministers jointly launched the linkage between NPCI India and National Payments Interface Nepal for facilitating cross-border personal remittances. An MoU was exchanged between Digital India Bhashini and Kathmandu University for co-creating National Digital Infrastructure for ‘Voice First’ Language Translation platform for Nepal.