Foreign Secretary Kwatra discusses bilateral ties with Nepal President Bhandari, PM 'Prachanda'

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday called on Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and held productive discussions on ways to improve bilateral ties.

Kwatra, who arrived here on a two-day official visit, called on Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari at the Sheetal Niwas here and conveyed greetings on behalf of her Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu.

The foreign secretary called on prime minister Prachanda and held productive discussions on bilateral issues across various sectors, including economic and development cooperation, the Indian embassy said.

He also met the Foreign Minister of Nepal Bimala Rai Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations.

During his visit, Kwatra, who was earlier India's ambassador here, also held a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal.

Kwatra discussed with the Nepali foreign minister various matters, including enhancing air connectivity between Nepal and India, sources close to Paudyal said.

During their discussions, Paudyal urged the Indian foreign secretary to provide an international air route for the effective operation of the newly opened Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara International Airport, the sources said.

Issues such as increasing development assistance to Nepal, boosting investment, resolving problems surfacing in connectivity, and bilateral trade as well as the promotion of power trade mainly featured during the meeting.

Paudyal also proposed to form a mechanism for a common voice of the South Asian nations in the international forums regarding climate change issues.

Besides Prachanda, the foreign secretary was also engaged in hectic political consultations with top politicians of the Himalayan nation.

Kwatra is also expected to meet on Monday Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) chairman K.P. Sharma Oli.

He will meet Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Socialist chairperson Madhav Kumar Nepal on Tuesday before concluding his visit.

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.