Nepal PM Deuba meets JP Nadda; discusses strengthening ties between Nepali Congress, BJP

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba met Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda at the party headquarters on Friday and discussed strengthening the ties between the Nepali Congress and the BJP.

The Nepal PM was accompanied by his wife Arzu Deuba, Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, Energy and Water Resources Minister Pampha Bhusal and Health Minister Mahendra Rai Yadav during the meeting. PM Deuba was attending the meeting at the invitation of BJP President JP Nadda.

The discussion was held in a cordial environment and political ideas were also exchanged, BJP Foreign cell head Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale informed about the meeting.

The two leaders discussed exchange programs involving youth exchange as well as women delegation exchange and said that they will take forward 'party-to-party' dialogues between the BJP and the Nepali Congress.

Relations between India and Nepal transcend many plains including Business-to-Business relations and country-to-country relations, however, there was a gap in 'party-to-party' relations, Chauthaiwala said, adding that the BJP President emphasized that the Nepali Congress and the BJP should undertake regular dialogue.

Regarding the exchange of party delegations, Chauthaiwale said that one Nepali Congress delegation had already arrived about 2-3 months ago at the invitation of the BJP.

The exchange of delegations will go on, and we will regularly exchange youth delegations and business delegations through coordination between both our parties, he added.

He further said that the BJP President gave a brand overview of the BJP to the Nepali PM, talking about the functioning of the party, as well as the non-political social welfare work the party volunteers undertook during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chauthaiwale further elaborated that the discussions also involved the old ties between India and Nepal and the cordial relations between the two countries, adding that the two leaders naturally discussed the cultural and civilizational relations between the two countries.

"I think the 3-day visit of PM Deuba starts a new chapter between India-Nepal relations. Today's meeting is an important link in that chapter and we will see the long-term results of this meeting. I think a message of natural friendship between the two countries has been sent through this visit (of Nepal PM)," Chauthaiwale said.

Earlier today, Nepal PM arrived in New Delhi to kickstart his first visit to the country since assuming office in July last year. Nepal's Prime Minister is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi.

The Nepal PM also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla later today.

PM Deuba is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow at Hyderabad House, besides other engagements.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, Nepal PM will visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. In a press statement, the MEA said India and Nepal enjoy age-old special ties of friendship and cooperation.

The last Head of State/Head of Government-level visit from Nepal was in May 2019, when then PM K P Oli visited India for the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers. Before that PM Modi had visited Nepal in August 2018 for the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, which was preceded by a State Visit to Nepal in May 2018.

PM Modi had extended a congratulatory message to Sher Bahadur Deuba soon after he won the Vote of Confidence in Nepal's Parliament. This was followed by a congratulatory telephonic conversation on 19 July 2021. The most recent meeting between PM Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba took place on November 2, 2021, on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow.

Sher Bahadur Deuba is a veteran politician of the Nepali Congress with a political career spanning over seven decades. This is Deuba's fifth tenure as PM. His first term was from September 1995 to March 1997.

He has visited India several times, both when in and out of power. This will be his fifth visit to India as PM, with the last visit being in August 2018. The previous three visits took place in 2004, 2002 and 1996.

( With inputs from ANI )

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