The Right Hon’ble
Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Prime Minister of Nepal is on an official
visit to India from 31 May to 3 June 2023, on the invitation of the Hon’ble
Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.
2. This is Prime Minister Prachanda’s first bilateral visit to India since
assuming office in the current term. Mr. Narayan Prakash Saud, Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister of Finance, Mr. Shakti
Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Mr.
Prakash Jwala, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Ramesh
Rijal, Hon’ble Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies are part of the
delegation accompanying the Prime Minister during this visit.
3. Both Prime Ministers held wide-ranging bilateral discussions marked by
traditional warmth and cordiality. During their talks, both leaders reviewed
the entire spectrum of the bilateral agenda between India and Nepal covering
political, economic, trade, energy, security and developmental cooperation.
Prime Minister Prachanda also called on the Hon’ble President of India, Smt.
Droupadi Murmu and Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar.
National Security Advisor, Shri Ajit Doval called on the Prime Minister during
his stay in Delhi.
4. The two Prime Ministers noted the excellent cooperation between the two
countries, including in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting
the strong economic and trade partnership between the two countries, they
welcomed the signing of the revised Treaty of Transit which, among others,
provides access to India’s inland waterways.
5. Recalling the Joint Vision Statement on Power Sector Cooperation of April
2022, the two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress made in
power sector cooperation, that covers development of generation projects, power
transmission, infrastructure and power trade. Both Prime Ministers appreciated
the growth in export of upto 452 MW of power from Nepal to India and the
progress made in the construction of the 900 MW Arun-3 hydro-electric project in
Nepal.
6. Both sides finalised an Agreement for Long-Term Power Trade wherein it was
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 and towards this end take all
necessary measures to encourage mutually-beneficial investments in Nepal's
hydropower generation sector and transmission infrastructure.
7. Both leaders also jointly carried out the ground breaking of the 400 kV
Gorakhpur-Butwal transmission line. The signing of the MoU for the development
of 480 MW Phukot-Karnali project by NHPC and VUCL Ltd, Nepal and the Project
Development Agreement for the development of 669 MW Lower Arun between Satluj
Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) was welcomed by
both sides.
8. The Nepali side welcomed the decision of Government of India to facilitate
the first trilateral power transaction from Nepal to Bangladesh, through Indian
grid with an export of upto 40 MW of power. Both sides expressed their
commitment towards greater sub-regional cooperation, including in the energy
sector, which would lead to increased inter-linkages between the economies for
mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
9. The Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) as envisaged in the Mahakali
Treaty is in accordance with the aspirations of people of Nepal and India. In
this context, it was agreed that the concerned officials of both governments
shall expedite the bilateral discussions towards early finalization of the
Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the PMP within a period of three months. The
Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA) shall submit the finalized DPR to both
Governments. The two Governments and their relevant entities shall take the
lead in arranging finance for the PMP. The modalities of implementation shall
be concluded within one year after approval of the DPR by the two Governments.
10. The two sides welcomed the construction of the Tanakpur Link Canal and
agreed that water will be released from the Tanakpur Barrage to the irrigation
command area of Nepal through this canal in a phase wise manner based on the
readiness of the necessary facilities on the Nepali side. The technical teams
of the two sides will be in touch in this regard.
11. Both sides welcomed the decision of the Government of India to fund Bheri
Corridor, Nijgadh-Inaruwa and Gandak Nepalgunj Transmission lines and
associated substations under Indian Line of Credit at an estimated cost of US$
679.8 million.
12. The two Prime Ministers appreciated the positive momentum in the
development partnership and reviewed the implementation of major ongoing
projects. Prime Minister Prachanda assured Prime Minister Modi on Government of
Nepal’s full support in facilitating time bound completion of all India
assisted projects.
13. Giving further fillip to connectivity through creation of Integrated Check
Posts (ICPs) between India and Nepal being built under the Indian grant
assistance, both leaders inaugurated the mirror ICPs in Rupaidiha (India) and
Nepalgunj (Nepal). Both leaders also conducted the ground-breaking ceremony of
the mirror ICPs in Sunauli (India) and Bhairahawa (Nepal). An MoU on the
construction of another ICP in Dodhara Chandani in Nepal under Indian grant
assistance was also signed during the visit. These ICPs will help improve
transportation facilities to further enhance people-to-people connectivity as
well as trade, commercial and economic linkages between India and Nepal.
14. In a major initiative towards enhancing Rail connectivity, both leaders
presided over the inaugural run of the cross-border freight rail operations
between Bathnaha (India) and Nepal Customs Yard (Nepal) on the
Jogbani-Biratnagar rail link constructed with Indian grant assistance. This
will further enhance trade and commercial linkages between both countries
through Biratnagar, a major economic hub on the eastern side of Nepal. Further
extending the Jaynagar-Kurtha passenger rail operations launched in April last
year, the Kurtha-Bijalpura rail section was handed over to the Government of
Nepal which will now be due for operationalization shortly.
15. The Final Location Survey report of the Raxaul-Kathmandu rail link was also
handed over to the Nepali side during the visit. The Government of India also
agreed to the Government of Nepal’s requests for the training and capacity
building of Nepali rail officials in the Indian Railway institutes and
provision of one-time grant for maintenance of the railway infrastructure for
Jaynagar-Kurtha rail section that was flagged off by the Prime Ministers of
India and Nepal in April last year.
16. On Energy connectivity, both leaders noted with satisfaction the benefits
of Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline which was inaugurated in September
2019. In further enhancing this cooperation, both leaders also laid the
foundation stone for the Phase-II of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj Pipeline in
Chitwan. An MoU for construction of petroleum supply infrastructure by laying
the new pipeline between Siliguri and Jhapa, and extending the existing oil
pipeline from Amlekhgunj till Chitwan, as well as construction of two
greenfield terminals at Chitwan and Jhapa, was also signed during the visit.
17. The two sides also decided to further enhance digital financial
connectivity between the two countries. In this regard, an MOU between NPCIL
India and NCHL of Nepal for facilitating cross-border digital payments was
exchanged.
18. Both the Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the understanding reached
in February last year on the supply of urea and DAP from India to Nepal.
Strengthening this cooperation further, both leaders agreed to set up a
fertilizer plant in Nepal with the participation of public and private sector
entities from Nepal and India to meet the fertilizer needs of both Nepali and
Indian farmers and with adequate assurance of market in both the countries. The
two Prime Ministers directed the concerned authorities to explore the viability
of such a plant.
19. The Government of India has also decided to build two bridges across the
Mahakali River at Shirsha and Jhulaghat in Nepal connecting to Champawat and
Pithoragarh districts in India under grant . These bridges will boost
connectivity between the State of Uttrakhand in India and Sudurpaschim Province
in Nepal.
20. With the aim of providing a renewed momentum to agriculture sector, the two
sides discussed new avenues of bilateral cooperation like nano-fertilizers and
natural farming. As part of India-Nepal cooperation in agriculture and
livestock-related sectors, 15 Murrah buffaloes are being supplied to the
Government of Nepal at their request.
21. The Government of India has offered to create a ground station and supply
300 user terminals to offer the services of South Asia Satellite to Nepal under
grant assistance. This initiative would promote regional cooperation in space
sector, and space technology applications in the areas of telecommunication and
broadcasting, tele-medicine, tele-education, e-governance, banking and ATM
services, meteorological data transmission, disaster response and networking of
academic and research institutions.
22. Prime Minister Modi congratulated Nepal on becoming a founding member of
the International Big Cat Alliance.
23. On 02 June, Prime Minister Prachanda is visiting Indore and Ujjain in
Madhya Pradesh. His visit to these cities reflects the deep religious and
cultural links between the two countries.
24. Nepal is one of the key partners of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
The visit of Prime Minister of Nepal to India continues the tradition of high
level visit and exchanges between the two countries, strengthening the age old
ties between the two countries. The productive discussions held during the
visit, helped to widen the understanding between both countries and perspective
on the wide range of bilateral agenda, and gave a robust direction to take the
deep rooted partnership forward.
New Delhi
June 02, 2023