NEW DELHI, August 2 (RIA Novosti) – The relations between India and Nepal should serve as a model for the partnership among the countries in South Asia, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
Modi is going to Nepal on August 3-4 for a visit with the goal of giving a new direction and dimension to the Indo-Nepal relations and engaging with Nepal at the highest possible level.
"I hope my visit will open a new chapter in India - Nepal relations, characterized by more frequent political engagement and closer cooperation across the full spectrum of our extraordinarily broad-based relations, which will serve as a model and catalyst of prosperity for South Asian partnership," said Modi in a statement before the visit
He further said:"My visit reflects our shared heritage of nature, history, culture, spiritualism and religion. It highlights the high priority that my Government attaches to our relations with Nepal and our determination to take our relationship to an entirely new level."
On Sunday, the Indian prime minister will have meetings both in restricted format as well as delegation-level talks with Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. Koirala is also hosting a banquet in his Indian counterpart’s honor.
"We will identify steps to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in key sectors, including trade and investment, hydro power, agriculture and agro-processing, environment, tourism, education, culture and sports. I will also discuss with Nepali leadership and their business leaders how we can harness the full potential of the new digital age to empower and create new opportunities for the youth of the two countries," Modi said.
This is the first visit by India’s prime minister to Nepal within 17 years. The last such visit for a bilateral occasion was in 1997 when the then Prime Minister I.K. Gujral visited Kathmandu.
The relations between India and Nepal have traditionally been close since ancient times, due to the geographical contiguity and proximity and common religious, linguistic and cultural identities.
Since almost last two decades India has taken for granted its relations with Nepal and in fact gave a fair chance to both Pakistan and China to increase there sphere of influence in Nepal Region.
The fact is that China’s infrastructure development along the Nepalese border is a cause of concern for India. Thus, Modi's visit can be viewed as an effort by the Indian government to increase its sphere of influence in Nepal to counter China.
