KATHMANDU: Former President Ram Baran Yadav has stated that many Nepali leaders had contributed to India's independence.

At a programme organised by the Indo-Nepal Friendship and Economic Cooperation in the Capital on Friday, the former Head of State, Yadav, asserted that Nepal could learn from the democratic system as well as model of the economic development from the southern neighbour.

Similarly, Minister for Urban Development, Prabhu Shah, spoke for the need to promote the centuries-old ties between Nepal and India at people-to-people level.

Speaking at the programme, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri mentioned that open border between Nepal and India was the testimony to the centuries-old ties between the two countries.

Likewise, Cooperation's Chief Bhisma Narayan Singh argued that since the peace and prosperity were the common aspirations of the people in both countries, the top leadership from the both countries should actively peruse these agendas.