In India 'with a mission' to better bilateral ties: Nepal PM

Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Saturday said he has come to India "with a mission" to take bilateral ties to newer heights "commensurate with the realities of the 21st Century".

In a joint address with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said his country always accorded "great importance" to its ties with India as the two neighbours have many "things to offer each other".

"Inter-dependence takes many forms between our countries. Relations between neighbours are different than others. They rest on principles of equality and justice.

"I have come to India with a mission to enhance our relations to newer heights commensurate with the realities of the 21st Century. We want to create a model relationship. A relationship that is cherished forever," Oli said.

He asserted that the future of the ties between India and Nepal lied "in the expansion of the economic facility and improving investments".

"Agriculture is one of the areas where India has made significant progress and Nepal could learn from it. The (other) key areas of development are connectivity, railways and agriculture," he said after delegation-level talks between the two sides.

He said his country had completed "a very crucial transition phase after three tiers of elections (and) during this transitional juncture, we need support and cooperation of our friends".

Oli renewed his invitation to Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest.

Oli is on a three-day visit to India -- his first foreign trip after taking charge as Nepal Prime Minister for the second time in February. The visit keeps up with the tradition of India-Nepal ties under which the prime minister always makes the first visit to India.

However, the trip comes amid a hitch in bilateral ties after Oli had to step down as Nepal Prime Minister in 2016 following a blockade on the India-Nepal border. Many in the Himalayan nation blame India for the blockade that crippled the economy of the landlocked country.

The ties were further strained after Nepal decided to join China's One Belt One Road amid India's concerns that the Chinese initiative would harm its strategic and economic interests. Nepal has also signed a host of trade and transit pacts with China.

Oli is also scheduled to visit the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and the Breeder Seed Production Centre and an integrated farming project in Uttarakhand.

--IANS

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