PTI
Nepal is sensitive to India’s interests and will not allow its territory to be used against India, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has assured his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Briefing reporters at the end of Mr. Modi’s two-day visit to Nepal, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Saturday said it was a “significant statement” from Prime Minister Oli and India was “satisfied” with the discussions.
“Oli reiterated that Nepal would be sensitive to India’s interests and its territory would not be used against India,” he said.
Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km in the east, south and west with five Indian States — Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
At a joint press meet on Friday after a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Oli, Mr. Modi said the open borders between India and Nepal played an important role in the strong bilateral ties.
“We will not allow its misuse by anti-social elements,” Mr. Modi said after the marathon delegation-level talks during which the two sides had extensive discussions on all aspects of the bilateral relationship.
“We have agreed to further strengthen our joint efforts on defence and security to control cross-border crimes that have been taking place by misusing our open-borders that are quite important for people on both the sides,” he said.
Open, thickly populated border
The India-Nepal border is open, porous and thickly populated. The movement of people across the border is governed by the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950.
During her meeting with Mr. Modi, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari said high-level visits strengthened contacts.
Mr. Gokhale said Nepali leaders who called on Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that his visit to cultural places like Janakpur and Muktinath would enhance tourism. The two sides have agreed to an informal timeline to discuss all matters by September this year.
The two leaders also discussed the implementation of various India-assisted projects in Nepal and decided to bridge the implementation gap in some of the projects, he said, adding that there was no discussion on the issue of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Nepal is the current chair of the SAARC.
Last month, Mr. Oli said he had spoken to both his Indian and Pakistani counterparts to resume the stalled SAARC process by sorting out their differences.
