PM Modi, Nepalese counterpart Prachanda to inaugurate UP’s first land port
‘Prachanda’ is on a four-day visit to India and this is his first bilateral trip abroad after assuming the top office in December 2022. He will hold talks with PM Modi and the focus will be energy, trade and cooperation.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ will hold bilateral talks at Hyderabad House in the national capital today. Both the PMs will talk about boosting India-Nepal cooperation in areas of energy, trade, connectivity and more.
‘Prachanda‘ arrived in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon on a four-day visit to India, his first bilateral trip abroad after assuming the top office in December 2022. 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.
PM Modi and Prachanda meeting
People familiar with the matter told news agency PTI that the focus of discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prachanda is anticipated to be on deepening cooperation in the areas of connectivity, economy, energy, and infrastructure to transform the civilizational ties between India and Nepal.
They further said that one of the top priorities would be to broaden and deepen the cooperation in the power sector through new initiatives. The India-Nepal joint vision statement on power sector cooperation of April last year is considered a milestone and Nepal has been exporting over 450 MW of electricity to India.
The two prime ministers are also likely to review the India-Nepal development partnership which forms the key pillar of the bilateral relations. Strengthening the financial connectivity between the two countries would be a discussion point, said one of the people cited above.
In April last year, RuPay card was launched in Nepal during the visit of then Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba to India.
India-Nepal likely to ink a number of pacts
Prachanda and Prime Minister Modi will hold talks on Thursday following which both sides are expected to ink a number of agreements.
PMs to inaugurate Uttar Pradesh’s first land port
Both the Prime Ministers will virtually inaugurate Uttar Pradesh’s first land port along the India-Nepal border in Bahraich on Thursday. A P Singh, posted as an adviser at the Rupaidiha Land Port by the Land Port Authority of India, on Wednesday said the prime ministers will inaugurate the facility from New Delhi at 11.30 am. He further said that senior officials of both countries have finalised the preparations for the inauguration.
“The Land Port Authority of India, which comes under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has set up integrated check posts on the country’s international borders for smooth movement of cargo and passenger vehicles,” Singh said. Cross-border movement of cargo trucks is being facilitated by bringing customs, immigration and other facilities of the two countries under one roof at these centres on both sides of the border, he added. Singh said the construction of the Rupaidiha Land Port, built on 115 acres of land, has cost about Rs 200 crores.
The Nepalese prime minister is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Nepal is considered an important country for New Delhi as it shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The land-locked nation relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.
Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India. The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations between the two countries.
On Friday morning, the Nepalese prime minister will travel to Indore and will leave for Kathmandu the next day.
(With PTI inputs)
News Sources – India Tv News
