Nepalese leaders call for collaboration with India in scientific and technical fields

Senior leader in Nepal's ruling communist party Ganesh Shah on Friday underscored the need for Nepal-India cooperation in scientific and technical fields.

Speaking at a programme organised by Nepal-India Friendship Society to mark the 73rd Independence Day of India, Shah, 69, who has served as minister for science and technology, said Nepal-India relations should be taken forward as per the needs of the 21st century, with an eye on climate change and water conservation.

India is making giant strides on the economic front and will soon become the fifth largest economy in the world, and Nepal being an immediate neighbour should take advantage through intensified cooperation, said Nepal's former water resources minister and President of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Pashupati Shumsher Rana.

Former Nepalese ambassador to India Lokraj Baral said India has emerged as a "strong democracy and a vibrant economic power", due to its capable leaders who have worked hard in building institutions.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri said during the Quit India movement in 1942 Indian freedom fighters Jayprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia had taken refuge in Nepal's Saptari district to escape British rulers.

Puri said centuries-old ties exist between the two countries.

He mentioned integrated check posts, recently completed oil pipe line, railway projects and the Terai Road as some of the recent collaborations between the two countries.