Nepal Foreign Minister in Delhi, to discuss border row, vaccine

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 14

Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali arrived here today in the first-ever high-level visit from Kathmandu in over a year to co-chair the sixth session of the India-Nepal joint commission meeting to be hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.

There was suspense about the visit after Nepal PM KP Oli dissolved the House last month. However, the decision to carry on with the visit marks another step to improve ties though Oli has sought to raise the boundary issue on the eve of Gyawali’s arrival.

“We look forward to constructive discussions on numerous sectors that encompass our bilateral agenda,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava while announcing the visit.

After ties soured in the wake of India building a motorable road, India dispatched the RAW chief followed by the Army Chief and the Foreign Secretary to turn around ties. However, in a reflection of the contestation between New Delhi and Beijing, the Chinese defence minister arrived shortly after Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Kathmandu.

The two sides will discuss a wide range of issues, including supply of Covid vaccines to Nepal, development of Pashupatinath temple, Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project and the management of the open border, besides some MoUs.

The problem of fake currency notes that is bedeviling both countries could also be discussed after the Nepal Home Ministry official said, “It is not just counterfeit Indian notes that circulate in the border area, fake Nepali notes are also being circulated. I do not know whether a MoU has been prepared already, but a proposal was prepared on the issue.”

On the Pancheshwar project, Nepal’s Energy and Water Resources Minister Dinesh Ghimire, who returned from Delhi last week, said at a press conference that some crucial issues related to the development of the project have been resolved with the Indian side.