Assessing the impacts of Indian Foreign Secretary’s Nepal visit
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri paid an official visit to Nepal from 11-12 August 2024 at the invitation of the Foreign Secretary of Nepal Sewa Lamsal. This was his first visit to Nepal after assuming office last month.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Misri held talks with his Nepali counterpart Lamsal. Their wide ranging discussions covered various aspects of the multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal, said India’s Ministry of External Affairs, both sides reviewed the progress made in various bilateral initiatives and developmental projects and discussed opportunities for further collaboration. In the meeting with President Ram Chandra Poudel, the Indian foreign secretary conveyed greetings from the leadership in India and also briefed them on the progress being made in various aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to the press statement.
During the various engagements, both sides affirmed the close and friendly relations between India and Nepal which are deeply rooted in historical, cultural, civilizational and people-to-people ties, reads the press statement. Both sides noted with satisfaction the substantial progress achieved in the recent years in bilateral cooperation, especially in the various areas of connectivity – physical, digital, energy as well as people-to-people, which is manifested in the steady implementation of infrastructure projects related to roads, bridges, Integrated Check Posts, cross-border railways as well as petroleum pipelines, according to the statement.
Both sides also appreciated the progress made in the mutually beneficial partnership in the field of power sector cooperation, which has seen substantial progress in the recent years. In this context, it was noted with satisfaction that the manifold increase in Nepal’s hydropower export to India in the last 2-3 years has created additional source of revenue for Nepal and of clean energy for India, India said in the press statement. The role of power sector cooperation in Nepal’s graduation from LDC status in 2026 was also highlighted.
