Nepal envoy Subedi 'looking forward to welcome PM Modi' in Kathmandu after COP26 meet

Nepal’s Charge d’affaires Ram Prasad Subedi, on November 5, said that he is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Himalayan nation. Speaking to ANI, the top diplomat said that, earlier at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, both PM Modi and Nepali Premier Sher Bahadur Deuba invited each other to their countries. On Friday, Subedi asserted that he was confident that PM Modi will surely visit Nepal. Notably, his remarks came while speaking at Deusi Bhailo celebrations at the Nepal Embassy.

“I am happy that the other day our PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and PM Modi met in Glasgow. They have invited each other. We are looking forward to welcoming PM Modi to Nepal. I am pretty sure that he will visit Nepal,” Subedi said while stopping short of announcing a date for the same.

“The invitation has been exchanged so we look forward. It’ll be a great honour for us to welcome him again. He has an affinity to Nepal and Nepali people,” he further added.   

During their first meeting on the sidelines of the COP26, Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba thanked PM Narendra Modi for providing COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner to his nation. Addressing a special briefing on PM Modi’s Glasgow visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla informed that Deuba also thanked PM Modi for assistance that India had provided Nepal in post-earthquake relief for the construction houses, schools and several cultural sites. 

India's commitment to developing Nepal 

It should be noted here that among others, India had committed Rs 500 crore in 2016 for the construction of 10 roads with a total length of 306 km in the Terai region in Nepal. The roads connect the Mahendra Rajmarg also called the East-West Highway to the Indian border, increasing the ease of connectivity between the people of the two countries. Both sides noted that 13 out of the total 14 packages have already been dedicated to the people of Nepal together by the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport of the Government of Nepal and the Ambassador of India to Nepal on March 31, 2021.

Image: ANI/PTI