Swaraj chairs Nepal joint commission meet

Seeking to take bilateral ties to a "new level", India and Nepal today held the first meeting of the Joint Commission after a gap of 23 years during which both sides decided to enhance cooperation in diverse areas including defence, security, trade and investment, water resources and border issues.
The Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Nepalese counterpart Mahendra Bahadur Pandey which largely agreed to further "reinvigorate" the relationship by stepping up engagement in new areas.
The meeting decided on setting up an Eminent Persons Group to identify new areas of cooperation and suggest measures to help both the countries seize all possible opportunities. Both the countries have agreed to the terms of reference for setting up of the group, government sources said.

The JCM also specifically deliberated on issues relating to defence and security and agreed to expand cooperation. The overall sense of the deliberation was that "security of both the countries was intertwined".
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and a number of top officials from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Culture were among those who represented the Indian delegation.
The discussions in JCM were held in five clusters - political, security and border issues; economic co-operation and infrastructure; trade and transit; power and water resources; and culture, education and media.

Swaraj co-chaired the first cluster deliberation on political, security and border issues.

Before the Joint Commission Meeting, Swaraj had a separate meeting with Nepal's Foreign Minister Pandey. At the outset, Pandey warmly greeted Swaraj and hoped that her visit will help in further cementing ties with the two countries.
Immediately after her arrival here yesterday, Swaraj had said Nepal stands high on the priority list of the Narendra Modi-led government and the testimony to it is her visit here within two months of assuming office of External Affairs Minister.
"The meeting for which I have come, you will be surprised to know, is taking place after 23 years. It reflects that for the new government, Nepal stands high on priority list.

"I have come here with lot of hopes and expectations and I think through the visit, India-Nepal relations will be further strengthened," she said yesterday.