Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli on Saturday held a telephonic conversation, the first since relations between both the countries took a turn for the worse over the Himalayan nation’s new political map.
Indian government sources described the conversation, at the behest of Oli, as essentially a courtesy call meant to convey his greetings to India on Independence Day, adding that cooperation on Covid-19 was the only issue discussed in detail during the talks that lasted for over 10 minutes.
It said Oli also conveyed to Modi his congratulations for India’s recent election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
On the call, Modi “recalled the civilizational and cultural links that India and Nepal share,” the ministry added.
Oli appreciated Modi’s “renewed priority to neighbourhood” and “looked forward to meaningful bilateral cooperation,” Nepal’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Both the leaders last spoke in April when the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown was raging in South Asia and the world, which prompted Modi to hold a video conference with SAARC leaders.
On 17 August, India and Nepal are set to hold their first high-level meeting since the map row erupted in May, according to ThePrint.
According to sources, the meeting will involve India’s Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, but discussions will centre on some of the ongoing projects that New Delhi is developing in the Himalayan nation, including large-scale connectivity and infrastructure development projects.
