It was the first meeting after the formation of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government one month ago….reports Asian Lite News
Nepal and India on Monday reviewed the progress made in various India-funded projects in the Himalayan nation.
The review exercise was carried out during the ninth meeting of Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism under the co-chairmanship of Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Bharat Raj Paudyal, and Ambassador of India to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
The meeting reviewed the progress of the projects being implemented under bilateral economic and development cooperation, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the status of implementation of all the ongoing projects, including Terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project, petroleum products pipelines, Pancheshwar multipurpose project, post-earthquake reconstruction, irrigation, power, and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, integrated check-posts, Ramayana circuit, HICDPs, motorable bridges over Mahakali river, agriculture and cultural heritage, among others
It was the first meeting after the formation of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government one month ago.
The Nepal Foreign Ministry said that both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of bilateral projects. To this end, they agreed to take necessary measures to address the problems and remove the obstacles in the course of implementation of projects, the statement added.
The mechanism was set up in September 2016 to oversee the implementation of bilateral projects and take necessary steps for their completion in time.
Meanwhile, the recent death of a Nepali youth while crossing the Mahakali river bordering Nepal-India is impending the bilateral ties. The cause of death of the Nepali youth is yet to be revealed.
The Nepali side has accused the India SSB for the death of the Nepali youth from Darchula district. However, the Indian SSB has denied its hand in the incident.
Nepal starts evacuation
The Nepal government has started evacuating and repatriating its citizens from the crisis-ridden Afghanistan after the Talibans capture of the South Asian nation.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that his government will provide protection to all Nepalis in Afghanistan waiting to be rescued.
Deuba assured that his government will coordinate with the concerned authorities to make arrangements for the rescue of the Nepalis and said that the government has already taken cognizance of the issue.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are about 1,500 Nepalis in Afghanistan, including Nepalis that are deployed in UN missions and embassies of different countries.
But there are also data that over 14,000 Nepali citizens have reached Afghanistan for seeking jobs through the informal channels but the Nepal government is lacking the data.
Ensuring the fulfilment of the responsibility on the part of the government with caution and seriousness, Deuba elaborated that he had already instructed the officials concerned on Sunday to take stock of the Nepalis and their situation in Afghanistan and make arrangements for their emergency rescue.
“Necessary coordination and guardianship are the responsibility of the government for the Nepalis waiting for the safety of rescue,” he tweeted.
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