On a two-day visit to Nepal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met President Bidya Devi Bhandari today. This meeting took place at Sheetal Niwas. Today is the last day of his two-day visit to Nepal. Earlier, the fifth round of the India-Nepal Joint Commission was concluded on Wednesday. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Food Safety and Standards was signed between India and Nepal during this meeting.
According to the Foreign Minister of Nepal, a Memorandum of Understanding on Food Safety and Standards was signed and exchanged between Napal's Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). '
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Nepalese counterpart Pradeep Kumar Gyawali co-chaired the meeting with their respective representatives on Wednesday. During this meeting, the two countries reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a focus on the areas of connectivity and economic partnership, trade and transit, power and water resources sectors, culture and education in particular.
In a statement given after this meeting, the Joint Commission expressed happiness over the momentum generated on the overall aspects of Nepal-India relations after the exchange of high-level visits over the last two years. A review of the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship and a Report of a Group of Eminent Persons on Nepal-India Relations (EPG-NIR) were exchanged.
The Indo-Nepal Joint Commission expressed happiness over the completion of bilateral projects such as the Motihari-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Products Pipeline, four sections of Hulaki roads and the reconstruction of private dwellings in Nuwakot and Gorkha districts after the earthquake. Simultaneously, the Commission expressed happiness over the progress of cross-border railway projects in Jaynagar-Janakpur and Jogbani-Biratnagar sections and integrated check posts at Biratnagar. Nepal's foreign ministry said the commission agreed to complete the remaining projects early.
