Kathmandu: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a series of high-level meetings with Nepalese leaders during his two-day official visit to Nepal, reviewing bilateral cooperation across various sectors and discussing possible outcomes and initiatives ahead of Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s upcoming visit to India.
According to a joint press release issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, Misri visited Nepal on November 4-5 at the invitation of Nepalese Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.
During the visit, Misri called on Prime Minister Balendra Shah and conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two discussed progress in bilateral cooperation and preparations for Shah’s upcoming visit to India.
Misri highlighted the “wide-ranging engagement and overall progress in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation” and discussed possible outcomes and initiatives in the context of the Nepalese Prime Minister’s visit to India.
He also met Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, and Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal.
On Wednesday, Misri and Nepalese Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai held delegation-level talks, reviewing ongoing cooperation across various sectors and discussing ways to strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries.
Misri also interacted with parliamentarians, including members of the India-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group and Nepal’s Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Tourism.
According to the joint release, Nepalese leaders expressed gratitude for India’s “swift and substantial humanitarian and technical assistance” following the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi floods.
Both sides noted growing engagement in traditional areas of cooperation, including trade and commerce, development partnership, hydropower, physical connectivity, border management, energy and people-to-people ties.
The discussions also covered newer areas of collaboration, including start-ups, digital connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI) and sports.
“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to all round enhancement of the bilateral partnership,” the joint press release stated.
The visit continued the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries to advance their close bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation.
