Foreign Minister Deuba in Delhi : Book Shopping at Khan Market, Meetings with Prime Minister Modi and Jaishankar

Hands over an invitation from PM KP Sharma Oli to Modi for a state visit to Nepal

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Nayapage

2024-08-19 23:43

Kathmandu: Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba is currently on an official five day visit to India. This is Deuba's first foreign visit as Foreign Minister.

On Sunday, she visited the renowned bookstore ‘Bahrison’s’ in Khan Market, New Delhi, for book shopping. ‘Bahrison’s,’ located in Khan Market, is a well-known bookstore. She purchased both new and old books there. Embassy officials indicated that Foreign Minister Rana bought new and old books. At her request, embassy officials accompanied her to the bookstore.

According to officials at the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, Foreign Minister Deuba bought half a dozen new and old books. An embassy official mentioned that after relaxing for a while upon reaching Delhi, Deuba requested to visit the well-known bookstore 'Bahrison's'. Minister Deuba spent considerable time selecting books with Acting Ambassador Surendra Thapa at the bookstore.

Minister Rana meets Indian Prime Minister Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar

Foreign Minister Deuba met with her Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Monday afternoon.

After the meeting, Minister Rana expressed her belief that the visit would further strengthen the centuries-old bond between Nepal and India. After the meeting, she expressed her hope that Nepal-India relations would become even stronger.

"I had a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar today in New Delhi," she wrote on Facebook about the meeting. "We discussed bilateral interests, various aspects of Nepal-India relations, and mutual cooperation. I hope that this visit will further strengthen the long-standing Nepal-India relationship."

On the same day, Foreign Minister Deuba also had a courtesy meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the meeting, she extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Nepal. During her formal visit to India, Deuba handed over the invitation for a Nepal visit from Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli during the courtesy meeting with Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his pleasure at meeting Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba. After the meeting on Monday evening, Modi tweeted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "I was happy to welcome Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba. India and Nepal share close civilizational ties and have a progressive and multifaceted partnership. Looking forward to continued momentum in our development partnership."

Foreign Minister Arju Rana also posted on social media, sharing that she and Modi discussed the multifaceted nature of Nepal-India relations. She said, "I had a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening in New Delhi. During this meeting, we talked about Nepal-India relations and its multifaceted aspects. I hope that my visit and the high-level discussions will elevate the historic relationship between Nepal and India to new heights."

During the courtesy meeting, the representatives from Nepal included Foreign Minister Arju Rana, Acting Ambassador to India Surendra Thapa, Bhrigu Dhungana, Head of the South Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Minister Counselor Droupada Sapkota.

On the Indian side, attendees included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava.

Discussion on Strengthening Nepal-India Cooperation : Indian Ministry of External Affairs

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has stated that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba discussed strengthening India-Nepal cooperation in various areas of mutual interest.

The press release mentions: "India and Nepal share a deep historical, civilizational, cultural, and people-to-people relationship, and are close and friendly neighbors. In recent years, projects in Nepal funded by India have gained momentum, particularly in sectors related to infrastructure, cross-border railways, roads, and bridges, integrated check posts, petroleum pipelines, and digital financial connectivity. These projects have shown progress in both physical and digital connectivity, as well as in people-to-people relations."

According to the Ministry, the two ministers reviewed the progress of various bilateral initiatives and development projects, and discussed opportunities for further cooperation in both existing and new areas of mutual benefit. The release further states: "The discussion also covered the potential for Nepal to export around 1000 megawatts of electricity, which would create revenue for Nepal and additional sources of clean energy for India. Both sides talked about the progress in energy cooperation, including the implementation of long-term energy trade agreements and the unprecedented opportunities available in this sector."

What does the Indian Ministry of External Affairs say?

Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal, H.E Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba to India

At the invitation of the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal, H.E. Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba is on an official visit to India from 18-22 August 2024.

2.​ The Foreign Ministers held bilateral talks on 19 August, covering the full range of the India-Nepal bilateral partnership. The Foreign Ministers reviewed the progress made in various bilateral initiatives and developmental projects and also discussed opportunities for further collaboration in the existing and new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

3.​ India and Nepal are close and friendly neighbours with deep historical, civilizational, cultural, and people to people linkages. There has been sustained momentum in the recent years in the implementation of India assisted projects in Nepal, which is especially manifested in the fields of connectivity – physical, digital as well as people to people, including in the infrastructure and other projects related to cross-border railways, roads and bridges, Integrated Check Posts, petroleum pipelines, and digital financial connectivity.

4.​ The two sides also noted the progress made in the mutually beneficial partnership in the field of power sector cooperation, where Nepal can now export electricity close to 1000 MW, creating additional source of revenue for Nepal and clean energy for India. In this connection, both Foreign Ministers noted the unprecedented opportunities in the power sector cooperation that would be available on implementation of the Long Term Power Trade Agreement.

5.​ Noting that sports is emerging as another area of cooperation between India and Nepal, the recent facilitation of providing training for the Nepali cricket team at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru was also welcomed.

6.​ During her visit, Foreign Minister of Nepal also called on the Prime Minister. Ways for further strengthening India-Nepal cooperation in a variety of mutually beneficial areas were discussed in the meeting.

7.​ Nepal is a priority partner of India under its Neighbourhood First policy. The Foreign Minister’s visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries. The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss and identify newer areas of cooperation to further advance our bilateral ties.

New

Delhi
August 19, 2024