PM Modi says India-Nepal border should not be misused, Deuba urges him to resolve ‘issues’ via ‘bilateral mechanisms’
Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is on a three-day visit to India, after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, said that the two heads of states discussed “boundary issues” with him urging his Indian counterpart to resolve all disputes through “bilateral mechanisms”.
Modi, who was listening to Deuba, said that the two sides discussed that “open borders” between India and Nepal should not be misused by “undesirable elements”.
Addressing the joint press meet with PM @SherBDeuba. https://t.co/IjJfpbIokK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 2, 2022
This is Deuba’s first bilateral visit abroad after becoming PM in July 2021. He has visited India in each of his four earlier stints as PM with the last one being in 2017. The bilateral ties have been strained since May 2020 when KP Sharma Oli was the Prime Minister of Nepal.
“We discussed the boundary issues. And I urged Modiji to resolve through (the) establishment (of) bilateral mechanism,” Sher Bahadur Deuba said.
On his part, Modi said, “We discussed that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. We laid emphasis on deepening cooperation between our defence and security authorities. I am confident that our conversation will be able to attain the objective of achieving the ambitious targets of the India-Nepal relations.”
Modi also added that they have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the power sector and have finalized a Joint Vision statement on power cooperation, which acts as a blueprint for the future.
The two sides, he informed, will also prioritise trade and cross-border connectivity. They also launched the Rupay card in Nepali, which will start a new chapter on financial connectivity, Modi said.
The two Prime Ministers also discussed other projects, such as a Nepal police academy, Integrated check posts and the Ramayana circuit.
Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba is visiting India from 1-3 April. Besides official engagements, he will be going to Varanasi.
