India-Nepal border dispute: PM Modi and Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal discuss to take ties to Himalayan heights

On Thursday, the Nepal PM Pushpakamal Dahal alias Prachanda met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Both the leaders vowed to resolve the vexed boundary dispute under the spirit of friendship even as the two sides signed several major pacts including one on increasing New Delhi's import of power from the neighbouring country to 10,000 mega watt in the next 10 years.

Super-hit India-Nepal partnership

After the meeting, PM Modi said India will continue to strive to take the relationship with Nepal to Himalayan heights. In his media statement, Modi said he and Prachanda took many important decisions to make the partnership between the two countries a "super hit" in the future.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti-Beti" relationship, which refers to cross-border marriages between people of the two countries.

India-Nepal border

Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The land-locked nation relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services and its access to the sea is through India.

Nepal PM's visit to India

During the visit to India also met President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

India-Nepal Business Summit

He participated in the India-Nepal Business Summit on Thursday that concluded successfully, marking a significant milestone in strengthening economic cooperation and deepening bilateral relations between the two neighbouring nations, informed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) through an official release on Thursday.

The summit that was held in New Delhi on Thursday brought together prominent business leaders, high-level government officials, ambassadors and experts from India and Nepal to explore avenues of collaboration and foster mutually beneficial partnership.

In the summit, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal expressed that India and Nepal share a relationship that is not confined to political or geopolitical or economic issues, the release added.

India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on Thursday for the development of the Phukot Karnali Hydro-Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal.

(With PTI inputs)