Both sides were expected to address the issue under an existing mechanism led by the Foreign Secretaries but that meeting is yet to be announced. Nepal had earlier written to New Delhi seeking the meeting of the Foreign Secretary-level mechanism to discuss the border dispute at Kalapani.

India also urged Nepal to avoid “politicisation“ of the boundary dispute. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, briefing the media after the talks, said, “There was a general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a responsible manner through discussion and dialogue. In the spirit of our close and friendly relations, politicisation of such issues should be avoided.” India’s position on avoiding politicisation of the Kalapani issue appears to be aimed at the upcoming election season in the Himalayan country when emotive issues like the border dispute are expected to be raised during political campaigns by both the Opposition led by former PM K.P. Sharma Oli and some sections of the ruling coalition of Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Center.

The two leaders inaugurated the broad gauge Jaynagar-Kurtha rail link that will establish rail connectivity to Janakpur in Nepal. India also launched the RuPay card facility in Nepal during the formal ceremony held at the Hyderabad House.

The two sides came out with a Joint Vision Statement on Power Sector cooperation between India and Nepal recognising “unprecedented opportunities”. Prime Minister Modi and PM Deuba jointly inaugurated the 90 km long 132 KVDC Solu Corridor Transmission line and substation that were built through the Line of Credit extended by India.

Both the leaders welcomed the February 28 Nepal-India agreement to enable long term supply of fertilizers from India to Nepal, a key demand of Kathmandu to deal with the fertilizer crisis in the country. For the past few years, Nepal’s agriculture sector has been suffering from a shortage of urea and chemical fertilizers.

Under the G-2-G agreement, Kathmandu can import around 210,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer from India annually.

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