NEPAL PRIME Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said on Saturday that he discussed the “boundary issue” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “urged” him to resolve it through “bilateral mechanism”. India said the “general understanding” was to address it responsibly and “avoid politicisation”. Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021. “We discussed the boundary issues. And I urged Modiji to resolve through (the) establishment (of) bilateral mechanism,” Deuba said after his meeting with Modi. Addressing the joint press meet with PM @SherBDeuba. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 2, 2022 Modi, who was listening to Deuba, said: “We also discussed today the issue of open borders of India and Nepal being misused by unwanted elements. We stressed on maintaining close cooperation between our defence and security institutions. I am sure that our talks today will prove to be effective in setting ambitious goals for the future of India-Nepal relations.” Later, briefing reporters on the bilateral meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the border issue was discussed “briefly”. “There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue, in the spirit of our close and friendly relations, and that politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided,” he said. India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain over the boundary issue in May 2020, when K P Sharma Oli was the PM. Both sides are now engaged in damage control. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also met Deuba separately. Deuba was accompanied by a high-level delegation of four Cabinet ministers in charge of foreign affairs, energy, water resources, health and agriculture among others. The two sides reviewed the full spectrum of the bilateral agenda covering political, economic, trade, energy, security and developmental issues. Modi said both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the power sector and finalised a joint vision statement on power cooperation, which acts as a blueprint for the future. A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said the two PMs discussed the “unprecedented opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector”. They also reviewed the progress in implementation of Indian projects in Nepal, including the cross-border rail links connecting Jayanagar-Kurtha-Bijalpur-Bardibas, Jogbani-Biratnagar and Raxaul-Kathmandu. “In a historic milestone, the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting India and Nepal in the Jayanagar-Kurtha section was flagged off by the two PMs during the visit. The Jayanagar-Kurtha rail link has been built with grant assistance from the Government of India,” the MEA said. “A joint vision statement on power sector cooperation that spells out the shared commitment as well as opportunities for win-win collaboration in power generation, transmission and trade was concluded during the visit. Both PMs jointly inaugurated the 90 km long 132 KVDC Solu Corridor Transmission line and substation built under the line of credit extended by India. Both sides agreed to expedite progress in the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, beginning with early finalisation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR),” the MEA said. Deuba appreciated the fresh approvals granted to the Nepal Electricity Authority for the export of substantial amounts of power to India and invited greater participation of Indian companies in Nepal’s hydropower development projects. The progress made in the 900 MW Arun-III hydro-electric project in Nepal was also noted, the MEA said. Modi thanked Deuba for assuring the Nepal government's “full support in resolving bottlenecks and facilitating the time-bound completion of all India-assisted projects, including the National Police Academy at Kavrepalanchowk, the Integrated Check Posts at Nepalgunj and Bhairahawa and the projects under the Ramayana circuit”. The MEA said that as part of India’s ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, India will inaugurate 75 development projects in Nepal this year. “The use of Indian RuPay cards in Nepal was jointly launched by the two PMs . This would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages between India and Nepal,” it said. Deuba will visit Varanasi on Sunday, where he will be received by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who will also accompany him during this leg of his stay. Deuba has visited India in each of his four earlier stints as PM – most recently in 2017.
