In his meeting with Nepal’s political leaders, India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Thursday expressed his interest to learn about the progress made on the new Constitution, multiple accounts said.
The Foreign Secretary, who arrived here for a two-day visit as part of his SAARC Yatra, met with Nepal’s political leadership.
On Thursday, he called on UCPN (Maoist) leaders at the residence of party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda.
Mr. Jaishankar said that though India was interested in Nepal’s efforts to write the new Constitution, it was the responsibility of Nepal’s political parties and their leaders to do so.
During his meeting with Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Chandra Nembang, he said India wanted Nepal to draft the statute soon on the basis of consensus and move on the path of prosperity, the CA chair said. The Foreign Secretary is scheduled other top political leadership on Friday before his return.
Mr. Jaishankar also met Nepal’s Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey and his Nepali counterpart, Shankar Das Bairagi at Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides reviewed the progress made on the agreements signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral visit to Nepal in August last year.
Earlier, he told mediapersons that India was committed to multifaceted and mutually beneficial relationship with Nepal as part of its “neighbourhood first” policy.
“My visit reflects the importance our government and Prime Minister attach to our relations with Nepal,” the Indian Foreign Secretary said in his remarks to Nepal’s media at the international airport.
