KATHMANDU: Nepal-India relations should now be focused on development issues, speakers said at a programme organised here, on Wednesday. At the programme organised by Nepal-India Friendship Society to mark the 67th Republic Day of India, former Vice-president Parmanand Jha said the people-to-people relations should now be concentrated on the development agenda. 'The state of development of Nepal is as it was 45 years ago, so setting other things aside we should not talk of development in the relations between the two countries', he said. Former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai said South Asia is lagging behind in terms of development and hence Nepal-India relations must be looked at with the lens of the 21st century development. India should also look towards Nepal not only from security but also from the development perspective, he said. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare CP Mainali said, Nepal should be taken as a development partner by India that stands in the fifth position in terms of development. 'Nepal and India move ahead together with the development of the civilisation and should do the same in the 21st century development'. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said as India-Nepal relations were not developed by any individual, it could not be damaged by anyone. He said India-Nepal relations should now be concentrated in development work, and there should be unanimity in development if not in political issues. Former Minister and Madhesi Morcha leader Mahendra Raya Yadav said even though the border blockade was carried out by the Madhesis, rulers in Kathmandu have put the blame on India. At the programme, General Secretary of SAARC Arjun Bahadur Thapa, former Nepali Ambassador to India Prof Lokraj Baral and President of the Society Prem Laskari emphasised to give a new dimension to Nepal-India relations in the days ahead.