Want to resolve all disputes through talks, Oli tells Shringla

Kathmandu, November 26, 2020

Nepal's Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli on Thursday said that his country wants to resolve all remaining outstanding issues with India through talks and dialogue.

In his meeting with visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Oli said that they are confident that they can resolve any misunderstanding through talks and they are capable of it, too.

In the meeting, according to Rajan Bhattarai, an advisor to Oli, Shringla handed over a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he said he was committed to take forward the bilateral ties to a new height.

"We want to translate our ties as per the spirit of 21st century," Oli said, echoing Modi's message.

He said there is nothing between the two countries that cannot be resolved through dialogue while referring to the ongoing boundary dispute between Nepal and India in India's Uttarakhand state.

Oli told Shringla that the boundary issue is a historic irritation left by his predecessors but time has come to sort these out amicably.

In the meeting, Shringla had briefed Oli about his meeting with Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and his counterpart, Bharat Raj Paudyal and expressed happiness over the outcome.

"Dynamics and periphery of our ties are very wide and broad so we want to expand them," Shringla told Oli, adding that India wants to inject more dynamism in these relations and sort out any dispute through talks.

In a statement on Thursday evening, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two Foreign Secretaries reviewed various aspects of relations covering trade, transit, connectivity, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, investment, culture, people to people relations, among others.

They discussed ways to strengthen the strong cultural and civilisational bonds that exist between the two countries and further build on the solid foundation of the multifaceted friendly relations for the benefit of the two countries and peoples, the statement said.

"The two sides also reviewed with satisfaction the progress made with regard to the bilateral cooperation projects, including the key connectivity projects and post-earthquake reconstruction work. They also discussed the boundary matters and exchanged views on completing the boundary work in the remaining segments," it said.

The two sides shared their experiences on the efforts made to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, and discussed matters related to cooperation in the context of the progress made by India towards the development of Covid-19 vaccines, the statement added.

IANS