India and Nepal had a discussion on various aspects which included maintaining cooperation such as political and security issues and border management and further shared opinions on cross-border projects on rail connectivity, which is inclusive of a potential Raxaul-Kathmandu broad gauge railway line.
Nepal congratulated India for their success on the vaccination drive with production of two Covid-19 vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin and at the same time placed a request for early provisions to Nepal. The sixth Indian and Nepal Joint Commission meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Nepali counterpart Pradeep Kumar which also had the discussion regarding the petroleum products pipeline and a new pipeline which would connect Siliguri to Jhapa.
A statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said, “Both sides discussed several areas of cooperation including in the areas of connectivity, economy and trade, power, oil and gas, water resources, political and security issues, border management, development partnership, tourism, culture, education and capacity building.”
The release further added, “Nepal congratulated India on the remarkable success in the production of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines in India and requested for early provision of vaccines.”
Regarding the upcoming ventures, the release said, “Both sides welcomed the completion of the work on the first passenger railway line between India and Nepal from Jaynagar to Kurtha via Janakpur and noted that operating procedures for commencement of train services were being finalized. Other cross-border rail connectivity projects, including a possible Raxaul-Kathmandu broad gauge railway line, were also discussed.”
During the meeting, India also conveyed about undertaking two cultural heritage projects for the Nepal-Pahupatinath Riverfront Development and the Bhandarkhal Garden Restoration in Patan Durbar with support by grant assistance. The release added that bot sides have made a mutual agreement to conduct a next meeting of the Joint Commission in Nepal on mutually convenient dates.
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