KATHMANDU, JULY 17
Newly appointed Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava today paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nepal Agni Prasad Sapkota at the latter's office in Singha Durbar.
During the meeting, the speaker expressed hope that relations between Nepal and India would reach qualitative heights through long experiences and responsibility of Ambassador Srivastava during his tenure.
Stating that the two countries exchanged original and multi-dynamic relations, he remembered the 75th establishment of the bilateral relations between the countries and the 75th Independence Day being observed by India.
"The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lumbini in Nepal has contributed a lot to enhance religious tourism in the country and opened a new chapter," he said, adding that the exchange of high level visits between Nepal and India had further strengthened relations between the two countries.
He also thanked Ambassador Srivastava for the way India has been exhibiting humanity towards Nepal not only as a neighbour but also by providing medical equipment and COVID-19 vaccines at a time when the country was battling the virus.
"Both the countries should have common understanding towards resolving the problems facing the world, including pressing climate change issue," he said. "We (both the countries) must come together for global peace."
On the occasion, the speaker also highlighted the issue of fertiliser crunch that has hit Nepali farmers.
Stating that India has had a 'Neighbour First Policy', Ambassador Srivastava recalled the five prime ministerial level visits of India to Nepal within a span of eight years.
He viewed that there had been many opportunities to enhance cooperation between the two countries that had exchanged a long and historic relation, adding that connectivity could be further expanded.
He was of the view that solutions to the impacts of climate change, a common problem in the South Asian region, should be sought collectively.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.