Will bolster India-Nepal ties manifold: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Thursday vowed to resolve the vexed boundary dispute under the spirit of friendship even as the two sides signed several major pacts, including one on increasing New Delhi's import of power from the neighbouring country to 10,000 megawatts in the next 10 years. In the wide-ranging talks between Modi and Prachanda, the Indian side agreed to the first trilateral power trade from Nepal to Bangladesh through India for up to 40 megawatts of power, a move that is seen as a significant step towards ensuring greater regional cooperation.

Modi said India will continue to strive to take the relationship with Nepal to Himalayan heights. In total, India and Nepal signed seven pacts which included a revised treaty of transit that was described by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra as "once in a generation kind of an agreement" as it would provide Nepal access to inland waterways of India for the first time and expected to contribute very significantly to expansion of trade and investment linkages.

The two sides also firmed up several new initiatives to expand cooperation in areas of hydro-electric power, petroleum infrastructure, railway connectivity, cross-border payment systems and trade and investment as part of a futuristic approach to expand the overall trajectory of bilateral ties. In his media statement, Modi said he and Prachanda took many important decisions to make the partnership between the two countries a "super hit" in the future.

"We will continue to strive to take our relationship to Himalayan heights. And in this spirit, we will resolve all the issues, be it boundary related or any other issue," Modi said in his media statement in presence of Prachanda. In his comments, the Nepalese PM said he and Modi discussed the boundary matter.

"I urge prime minister Modi-ji to resolve the boundary matter through the established bilateral diplomatic mechanism," he said.

Ties between the two countries came under severe strain after Kathmandu published a new political map in 2020 that showed three Indian territories -- Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh -- as part of Nepal. India reacted sharply, calling it a "unilateral act" and cautioned Kathmandu that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it.