India committed to redefine ties with partners in neighbourhood, especially Nepal: Jaishankar

KATHMANDU: India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to redefining its relationship with partners in its neighbourhood, especially with Nepal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday as he inaugurated several post-earthquake reconstruction projects in the Himalayan nation.

Jaishankar, who is in Nepal on a two-day visit, also hoped that the India-Nepal ties would continue to cross more and more milestones in the days to come.

Jaishankar along with his Nepalese counterpart N P Saud on Friday jointly inaugurated the new building of Tribhuvan University Library constructed with India’s assistance at Kirtipur, 8 km South of Kathmandu.

They also remotely inaugurated other post-earthquake reconstruction projects which include 25 schools, 32 health facilities and a culture centre by lighting a laser beam on the monitor. These projects were undertaken as part of a collaborative effort to support the people of Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2015.

Speaking at the occasion, Jaishankar said in recent years, “We have witnessed the real transformation of the India-Nepal relationship with significant strides made in a variety of areas.”

The bilateral partnership has expanded multifold and connectivity, be it physical, digital or energy-related, has become a cornerstone of this expanding collaboration and this has further strengthened people-to-people linkages between our two countries, the minister said.

He said during his visit, the two nations signed some really important agreements, both in the areas of power sector cooperation as well as project implementation.