India, Nepal to hold review mechanism dialogue on ongoing projects next week

The scheduled oversight mechanism meeting is being termed as part of regular interaction between the two countries to review ongoing bilateral economic and development projects which meet periodically, the sources said. The Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu Vinay Mohan Kwatra will head the Indian side while Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi will be leading the Nepali team during the talks which will be on 17th of August.

New Delhi: India and Nepal will hold review mechanism dialogue next week to take stock of the progress of the ongoing projects in the Himalayan nation, sources said on Wednesday.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra will be holding talks with Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, they added.

The meeting holds significance as it will be the first since the deterioration of ties between the two nations following the issuance of a new map by the Nepal government incorporating parts of Indian territories.

"India and Nepal to hold review mechanism dialogue on August 17 to take stock of the progress of the ongoing projects in Nepal; Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra will be holding talks with Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi," the sources said.

New Delhi has been assisting Kathmandu in the various developmental projects under India-Nepal bilateral initiation to support and strengthen grass-root infrastructure development projects across Nepal.

Projects under this initiative benefit the communities in the project area, particularly in the areas of education, health, connectivity, drinking water and sanitation, vocational training, medical campus, etc.

Since 2003, India has completed 422 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), covering 77 districts of Nepal with a financial grant of over NRs 798.7 crores, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

The tensions between the two countries related to boundary came to the fore in May after the Nepal government issued the new map of Nepal, incorporating Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.

Responding to it, New Delhi asserted that the updated map is "not based on historical facts and evidence" and termed the claims by Nepal as artificial enlargement.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava also said that the move is violative of the current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues.

(ANI)