KATHMANDU: India and Nepal agreed on Monday to further bolster their economic and development cooperation as Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met his Nepalese counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal and reviewed the wide-ranging bilateral partnership. Foreign Secretary Kwatra arrived here on a two-day official visit to hold talks with the country’s top political leadership on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. 
“Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra met his counterpart Mr Bharat Raj Paudyal and reviewed the wide-ranging India-Nepal partnership,” the Indian embassy here tweeted. 
“Both sides agreed to further strengthen their economic and development cooperation for benefit of the two countries and region as a whole,” it said. 
During his visit, Kwatra, who was earlier India’s ambassador here, will pay courtesy calls to Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Foreign Minister Paudyal. 
It is expected that Kwatra will also discuss with his Nepalese interlocutors the possibility of a visit to India by Nepal’s Prime Minister Prachanda. Prachanda has said that he will travel to India on his first foreign visit. 
Nepal and India will discuss various matters of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health and culture among others during the foreign secretary’s visit, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s foreign ministry here on Sunday. 
“The visit is in continuation of the regular exchange of visits between the two friendly neighbours,” it said. 

This will be the first high-level visit from India after Prime Minister Prachanda assumed office for the third time in December. 
Kwatra is also expected to meet Nepal’s top political leaders, including Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli. 
“The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy,” the Ministry of External Affairs has said. 
India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy is an integral component of Indian foreign policy. The policy seeks to build cordial and synergetic relations with India’s South Asian neighbours in various areas such as economy, science and technology, research and education, among others. 
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 more than 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.

press release of Indian side as follows

Visit of Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra to Nepal (13-14 February 2023)

Posted on: February 13, 2023 

Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra commenced his two – day official visit to Nepal at the invitation of the Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal, today. The talks held between the two Foreign Secretaries in the morning covered wide ranging discussions on various areas of the multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal, including development partnership, energy cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, institutional engagements and people to people ties.

2.       Both Foreign Secretaries also reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the commitments made during the Prime Ministerial visits held last year, including in the areas of cross border connectivity, hydropower cooperation, culture, trade and commerce. On railway connectivity, both sides agreed for the early completion and operationalization of the remaining sections of the Jaynagar-Kurtha-Bijalpura-Bardibas and the Jogbani-Biratnagar rail links, as well as taking further steps on the proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu rail link, and committed to expediting the procedural requirements, to enable their early implementation.

3.       The two sides appreciated the progress made in the energy cooperation last year, wherein Nepal is now able to export 452.6 MW power to India, creating additional sources of revenue for Nepal and energy for India. The Nepalese side requested Indian side to explore allowing power export on long term basis. They also requested for utilizing all products of the exchange market in order to further enhance power trade between India and Nepal. The Indian side took note of both the requests. While reiterating commitment to the full implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on Power Sector Cooperation agreed between India and Nepal in April 2022, the two Foreign Secretaries agreed to also work together for mutually beneficial cooperation in the sub-regional context.

4.       Nepalese side also appreciated the special provisions made for Nepal in the export of sugar, wheat and paddy by India, so as to ensure smooth supply of agricultural products to Nepal during the times of global uncertainties.

5.       The two Foreign Secretaries also discussed multilateral and regional cooperation. In this regard, the Nepalese side appreciated the invitation extended by India under its G20 Presidency to Nepal to participate in the G20 Finance Track this year. The Nepalese side also reiterated commitment for early ratification of the International Solar Alliance. 

6.       Foreign Secretary Kwatra also called on the Rt Hon’ble President of Nepal, Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari, Rt Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, and Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal. During these meetings, the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen the unique ties between our two countries and expanding our multifaceted development cooperation for the benefit of our two peoples.

7.       During the day, Foreign Secretary Kwatra also called on former Prime Ministers Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba and Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli. Continuing his visit tomorrow, Foreign Secretary Kwatra will be meeting other senior members of the Government of Nepal and other leaders.

8.       India and Nepal share a close partnership that is rooted in age-old civilizational and cultural linkages, characterized by strong people to people ties. The visit is in keeping with the tradition of high level exchanges between the two countries.

Kathmandu

13 February 2023

Press release of Nepal side as follows

Press Release on Official Visit of India’s Foreign Secretary to Nepal

Press Release

Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal and his Indian counterpart Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a bilateral meeting in Kathmandu today.

During the meeting, the two Foreign Secretaries reviewed various aspects of Nepal-India relations covering connectivity, trade and transit, power sector cooperation, agriculture, education, culture, health sector and people to people relations, among others.

The two sides reviewed with satisfaction the progress made in the connectivity projects such as railways, transmissions lines, bridges and the ICPs. The
Foreign Secretary of Nepal thanked the Government of India for the supply of fertilizers, easing of export restrictions on food grains, and delivery of dialysis machines.

The two sides discussed the early conclusion of the renewed transit treaty, review of the trade treaty, and convening of the Inter-governmental Committee on Trade (IGC) at an early date.

The two sides also expressed commitment to allow export of power from Nepal to India on long-term basis utilizing all products of the exchange market. They also discussed technical upgrading of cross-border transmission lines and early approval of the four proposed transmission line projects under the LOC-IV.

The Foreign Secretary of Nepal reiterated the request of the Government of Nepal for additional air-entry routes as well as early concurrence of the near border flight operation of the Gautam Buddha International Airport, Bhairahawa.

The two Foreign Secretaries also discussed the boundary matters. In this regard, they exchanged views on completing the boundary works in the remaining segments through the established bilateral mechanisms.

They also agreed to finalize the MoU between foreign service academies of the two countries.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of friendship and cordiality reflecting the close and multifaceted relations between the two neighbours.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal hosted luncheon in honour of the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary and the members of his delegation.

In the afternoon today, Foreign Secretary Kwatra called on Rt. Hon. President Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari, Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal. Matters of mutual interests were discussed during the calls on.

The Foreign Secretary of India arrived in Kathmandu this morning and is scheduled to depart tomorrow, 14 February 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu
13 February, 2023