Establish mechanism to resolve boundary issue: Deuba to Modi

New Delhi: India and Nepal on Saturday unveiled a cross-border railway network and several other developmental initiatives even as Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba pitched for setting up of a bilateral mechanism to resolve the lingering boundary issue.

After their wide-ranging talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Deuba virtually inaugurated the 35-km railway network from Bihar's Jaynagar to Kurtha in Nepal, launched a 90-km power transmission line and rolled out the RuPay payment card in Nepal.

Signalling a major reset of ties that came under severe strain after the boundary row escalated in 2020, the two sides unveiled a vision document for cooperation in the power sector and inked four pacts providing for ramping up India's supply of petroleum products to Nepal and boosting ties in sectors such as clean energy and railways.

In his media statement, Modi referred to the discussion on ensuring that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements.

"We discussed that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused by undesirable elements. We emphasised on deepening of cooperation between our defence and security authorities. I am confident that our talks today will be able to attain the objective of achieving the ambitious targets of the India-Nepal ties," he said.

Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021.

In his remarks, Modi said India has been a firm partner in the journey of peace, progress and development of Nepal and will always remain so.

"The friendship of India and Nepal, the relationships of our people, such an example is not seen anywhere else in the world. Our civilization, our culture, the threads of our exchanges; are connected since ancient times," Modi said in his media statement.

In his comments to the media in presence of Modi, Deuba said the boundary issue was discussed in the talks between the two sides and he urged the Indian prime minister to resolve it through the establishment of a bilateral mechanism.

Hours later at a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said there was a general understanding that the issue needed to be addressed in a responsible manner through dialogue and its "politicisation" should be avoided. "The issue was briefly discussed. There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly relations and politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided," Shringla said.

Ties between the two countries came under severe strain after Kathmandu published a new political map in 2020 that showed the three Indian territories - Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh - as part of Nepal. The prime minister said he and Deuba also agreed to give priority to the initiatives on trade and cross border connectivity in all respects and that the joint vision statement on power corporation will prove to be a blueprint for future collaboration.