Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal, who is currently on an official visit to India, held separate meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi on Saturday.
During his meeting with Jaishankar, the two sides discussed a range of issues, including bilateral trade, investment, connectivity, energy cooperation, and people-to-people ties.
At the meeting, Minister Khanal said Nepal did not wish to be burdened by the past and added that people of both countries are in favor of results-oriented diplomacy. Khanal also said relations with India have always remained a top priority for Nepal.
Jaishankar, for his part, expressed India’s readiness to cooperate with Nepal in areas such as trade, connectivity, energy and artificial intelligence.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the two ministers reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations, including development cooperation, connectivity, trade and transit, energy, and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
The ministers expressed satisfaction with progress achieved across various sectors and welcomed recent initiatives to expand cooperation in innovation and startups, digital and financial technology, as well as training and capacity building.
Both sides also welcomed the completion of internal procedures required for the entry into force of the India-Nepal Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in Criminal Matters (MLAA), which will provide an institutional legal framework to enhance cooperation in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cross-border crimes.
During the meeting, Jaishankar formally handed over 72 health facilities and 12 cultural heritage projects completed under India’s post-2015 earthquake reconstruction assistance program in Nepal to Minister Khanal.
The two ministers also jointly launched a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) linkage between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Nepal’s National Payments Interface (NPI) to enable cross-border personal remittances.
In addition, they witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Digital India Bhashini and Kathmandu University to jointly develop a national digital infrastructure for a voice-first language translation platform.
Earlier, Khanal met Doval. Discussions between the two reportedly focused on energy cooperation, connectivity and other bilateral issues.
Foreign Minister Khanal left for New Delhi on Friday at the friendly invitation of Jaishankar.
During the visit, he also met Vijay Chauthaiwale, head of the foreign affairs department of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on Friday.
The same day, Khanal addressed a program organized by the India Foundation in New Delhi.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign minister is scheduled to return to Nepal on Sunday after completing his visit.
Khanal will begin an official visit to China on Saturday.
