The move to set up the bilateral mechanism was decided during the meeting between visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon and the Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, at which they also reflected on the current political situation in the country.
Menon, making his second visit to Nepal in the last four months, also extended an invitation to the prime minister to visit India, dates for which are being worked out.
By setting up a bilateral mechanism on border issues, the two countries hope to take out the sting from a campaign being run by the former ruling Maoists party, which has alleged that India has encroached upon Nepalese territories in Dang district.
After the 45-minute meeting with the prime minister, Menon said they had discussed bilateral cooperation, including border issues and the and current political situation in the country.
Rajan Bhattarai, the prime minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor told reporters that the Foreign Secretary had come to extend formal invitation to the Nepal prime minister for a visit to New Delhi from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said the date of the visit is still being worked out.
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