Agreement to start the remaining work for proper demarcation traces between Nepal and India as soon as possible
Top officials of the two countries have agreed to hold talks at the political level and move the bilateral mechanism meeting in parallel to resolve the border issue, which has been at the root of the problem for nearly six decades.
The sixth meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission, chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries, was held in New Delhi on Friday afternoon.
"It has been agreed to start the remaining demarcation work as soon as possible and to hold political talks and bilateral mechanism meetings at the same time," Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport after returning from New Delhi on Saturday evening.
He said that a positive response has been received from the Indian side to bring the border issue to a conclusion and India has also expressed its commitment to that. "We are aware of India's position, although we are committed to resolving it," Gyawali said.
During his meeting with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh before returning home, Minister Gyawali stressed on the need for bilateral defense cooperation, cooperation and partnership between the two armies as well as more intensive working unity between the two national armies in disaster management.
Responding to a query, he said that the Defense Minister had drawn the attention of the Indian side to end the obstruction by the Indian side in the work started by the Nepal Army to connect Chhangru of Darchula district with the road network.
The meeting of the Joint Commission agreed to promote bilateral cooperation by reviewing various aspects of mutual cooperation under five groups, namely political security and borders, communication network and infrastructure and economic cooperation, trade and transit, energy and water resources, and culture, tourism and education. Given
Minister Gyawali said that the meeting of the Joint Commission, a supreme mechanism to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, reviewed the 1950 Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty, the report prepared by the Enlightened People's Group (EPG) and other issues of bilateral interest. There was a statement.
It was also agreed to utilize the grants and loans provided by the Government of India for post-earthquake reconstruction and to finalize the projects under it, expedite the process of reviewing the transit and railway agreements between Nepal and India and move forward the necessary process for reviewing the trade agreement.
Nepal had requested India to take concrete measures to promote trade, increase cooperation to remove barriers to bilateral trade and increase Nepal's exports.
In the meeting, it was agreed to prioritize the construction of Bhairahawa-Gorakhpur High Volt transmission line and other cross-border transmission lines after the construction of Dhalkewar-Muzaffarpur High Voltage transmission line and to prepare a detailed project report of Pancheshwor Multipurpose Project.
The meeting has directed the concerned authorities to move ahead with the work of 'Head Regulator' and 'Link Canal' in Tanakpur Dam for the water that Nepal should get as per the Mahakali Treaty.
Construction of three motorable bridges on the Mahakali River at Sirsa, Jhulaghat and Darchula, construction of roads and infrastructure on Indian soil, implementation of past efforts to solve the problem of flooding in villages and towns in Nepal's border areas, further cooperation in the agricultural sector and government-to-government cooperation. It was also agreed to prepare a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of manure and implement it soon.
The meeting also stressed on the need for speedy and effective completion of development projects run with the support of the Government of India in Nepal's continuous efforts to achieve development, construction and prosperity.
The meeting also discussed the issue of reopening the closed air and land routes as per the convenience of Kovid, completing the work of the remaining three sections out of the 14 sections of the postal road and speeding up the process of handing over the completed 11 sections.
It has been agreed to start the work soon by signing a memorandum of understanding for the construction of Raxaul-Kathmandu railway.
Minister Gyawali said that talks have been held with India on finalizing the SOP for the operation of the railway from Jayanagar to Kurtha and all necessary works for the construction of the railway line to Bardibas.
He also said that India has agreed to start work on an integrated check post in Bhairahawa soon and to connect the four-lane road and bridge under construction at Mahakali to India's national road network, adding that it would strengthen the road network between Nepal's far western region and India's Uttarakhand.
The meeting also discussed the construction and expansion of waterways and construction of cross-border economic zones, expeditious issuance of cross-border energy trade practices by India as per the existing open electricity trade agreement signed in 2014 and the inclusion of energy buying and selling arrangements in cross-border transmission rules and directives. Was done.
It should be considered positive that the meeting of the Joint Commission should be concluded amidst the unfavorable situation arising from COVID-19 and that mutual cooperation and collaboration should gain more momentum. Over the past seven years, continuous high-level discussions and meetings of the Nepal-India Project Monitoring Mechanism, the Indian Foreign Secretary's visit to Nepal, and four meetings, including the Energy and Commerce Secretary-level mechanism, have helped to further enhance multifaceted Nepal-India relations.
Minister Gyawali's visit is expected to make the centuries-old cordial relations between Nepal and India even better and more fruitful for the people of both the countries in the future and help in establishing a problem-free Nepal-India relationship by increasing the series of high level talks.
