PM Modi holds talks with visiting Nepalese counterpart

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held extensive talks with his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba covering various key facets of close neighbourly ties between the two countries.

Deuba, accompanied by a high-level delegation, arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit.

”A renewed opportunity to deepen the special ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter ahead of the Modi-Deuba talks.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Deuba on Friday evening. It is Deuba’s first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister in July last year for a fifth time following a spell of political turmoil in Kathmandu.

Deuba had visited India in each of his four earlier stints as prime minister of Nepal. His last visit to India in his capacity as the prime minister was in 2017.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old ”Roti Beti” relationship.

The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states — Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.

On Sunday, Deuba is scheduled to visit Varanasi.