Foreign Secretary of India, His Excellency Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, paid a courtesy call on the Rt. Hon. Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subash Chandra Nembang at the latter’s office at Parliament Secretariat in Singha Durbar this afternoon.
While recalling with pleasure the historic address to the Nepalese parliament by Prime Minister of India His Excellency Narendra Modi during his visit to Nepal in August 2014, the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly expressed appreciation to the Government of India for its goodwill and support to the constitution making process in Nepal. He also shared the recent progress made in the drafting of a constitution with consensus. The Indian Foreign Secretary highlighted the importance of consensus in the constitution making and expressed India’s desire to see continued stability and democracy in Nepal.
He also stressed the need for increased level of exchanges between the parliaments of the two countries. Foreign Secretary of India called on Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mahendra Bahadur Pandey at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar this morning. During the meeting, the Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction over the positive developments that have taken place in the recent past in Nepal-India bilateral relations. He pointed out the need to advance these relations further by enhancing trust and confidence at the level of Governments as well as peoples of the two countries.
Hon. Foreign Minister highlighted the importance of greater regional connectivity for the realization of the vision of SAARC Charter for a peaceful and prosperous South Asia. The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jaishankar highlighted ‘neighbourhood first’ policy of India and conveyed India’s commitment to work for a closer and more integrated South Asia.
Earlier this morning, a bilateral meeting was held between Acting Foreign Secretary Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi and the Foreign Secretary of India at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides reviewed major issues of bilateral interest including in political, social and economic areas. While appreciating the progress made in various sectors they stressed the need for expediting implementation of the projects agreed under bilateral cooperation and partnership so that concrete and desired outcomes are achieved.
The two Foreign Secretaries recalled the historic visit by the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, in August 2014 as well as the third Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting held at the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers’ level andshared the views on the significance of such exchanges of dialogues at the highest political level.
The Acting Foreign Secretary appreciated India’s contribution to socio-economic development of Nepal and emphasized the significance of smooth and timely implementation of development projects and other bilateral undertakings. The Foreign Secretary of India underlined the need to work closely in order to translate the vision of leaders from both countries into concrete outcome.
Following the meeting, the Acting Foreign Secretary Mr. Bairagi hosted a luncheon in honour of his Indian counterpart. The Foreign Secretary of India, Mr. Jaishankar, arrived in Kathmandu this morning on a two-day visit of Nepal as a part of his SAARC yaatra. He was received at the Tribhuvan International Airport by Joint Secretary at South Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Prakash Kumar Suvedi and Ambassador of India to Nepal, H.E. Mr. Ranjit Rae. Mr. Jaishankar was accompanied by Joint Secretary (North) of the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Abhay Thakur. During his stay in Nepal, Mr. Jaishankar is scheduled to pay separate courtesy calls on the Rt. Hon. President and the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister and meet leaders of various political parties.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kathmandu, Nepal April 2, 2015