Kathmandu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that the ties between India and Nepal have come a long way under the new NDA government as he began his two-day visit to the neighbouring country with the inauguration of Trauma Centre in Kathmandu's Bir Hospital.
"It has not been even 100 days since my last visit to Nepal and the relations between the two countries have reached heights which were not attained in the last 30 years," said Modi.
Modi held talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala on key strategic issues after which ten agreements, including a pact on USD 1 billion assistance to Nepal, were inked. A host of strategic issues, including defence and security, were discussed between Modi and Koirala during their talks that lasted for nearly 40 minutes.
Modi made a strong pitch for the early drafting of Nepal's Constitution, saying if the country fails to do so it may get into "difficulties". "I request all political stakeholders to draft the Constitution by early next year as committed through consensus which will reflect aspirations of all communities, including Madhesis, Pahadis and Maoists...failing to do so can cause difficulties to Nepal and your difficulty despite our expertise to help you in this field is a matter of sadness," said Modi.
He said India will not like to interfere but having expertise and not being able to help Nepal from getting into difficulty will be sad. Modi's remarks came after Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala expressed confidence that Nepal will be able to draft its Constitution by early 2015.
He lauded the efforts between the two countries to start Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service. "We hope that the Delhi-Kathmandu buses increase the tourism of Nepal, if possible we want the buses to be Wi-Fi enabled," the PM said.
He apologised to the people in Lumbini and Janakpur as he could not include visit to these places in his two-day schedule. PM assured that he would visit the two places soon in the near future.
On his arrival in Kathmandu to attend his maiden SAARC Summit, Modi was accorded a warm welcome. He was given a guard of honour and a group of girls presented a cultural performance for him. Modi will articulate India's position on various issues during the summit on November 26-27 and will hold bilateral talks with South Asian heads of state and government on its margins.
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