Pritam Bhattarai
Kathmandu, Jan 5: External Affairs Minister of India Dr S Jaishankar is currently on his two-day visit to Nepal to take part in the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission. His Nepal visit took place at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart NP Saud.
Upon his arrival, the Indian minister paid a separate courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
After co-chairing the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission with his Nepali counterpart Saud at Hotel Yak & Yeti in Durbarmarga, Kathmandu, he also held a separate meeting with other top political leaders including Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (UML) Chair KP Sharma Oli, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chair Madhav Kumar Nepal, Chairperson of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party Nepal Mahanta Thakur, Chairperson of Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal Upendra Yadav and President of the Rastriya Janamat Party CK Raut.
The External Affairs Minister also worshipped at the Pashupatinath Temple today morning.
He is also scheduled to inaugurate 59 post-earthquake reconstruction projects in the education, health and culture sectors, including the new building of the Tribhuvan University Central Library today itself. He is slated to return home today itself.
Key agreements between Nepal and India during his visit
An agreement has been reached between Nepal and India for the implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal. In the new Agreement, the budgetary ceiling for implementation of HICDPs has been increased from Rs 50 million to Rs 200 million.
An agreement has been struck between Nepal and India for the long term power trade. Under this agreement, it has been agreed to strive to increase the quantum of export of power from Nepal to India to 10,000 MW within a timeframe of ten years.
Similarly, a service agreement has been reached to launch the munal satellite developed by Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) between the NAST and the New Space India Limited. This satellite developed by Nepali students will be launched on a gratis basis on an Indian launch rocket.
A memorandum of understanding has been struck for cooperation in renewable energy development between the Nepal Electricity Authority and the NTPC Limited, creasing a framework for cooperation in renewables between the NEA and the NTPC.
The two ministers also witnessed the handover of the fifth tranche of post-Jajarkot earthquake relief supply provided by the Government of India to the Government of Nepal, consisting of 200 prefabricated houses, 1200 blankets, 150 tents and 2000 sleeping bags for the earthquake affected people in Nepal. Out of the 200 prefabricated houses, 20 were handed over today and the remaining shall be handed over in various tranches over the next few weeks, according to a statement issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu.
Similarly, to support the reconstructions post Jajarkot earthquake, the External Affairs Minister also announced that the Government of India will be providing a financial assistance package of approximately Rs 10,000 million with major portion under in grant.
