According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two ministers discussed development cooperation, connectivity, trade and transit, energy, and people-to-people ties.
They also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved in bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors.
The ministers jointly launched a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) linkage between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Nepal’s National Payments Interface (NPI) to facilitate cross-border personal remittances.
They also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Digital India Bhashini and Kathmandu University for co-creating a National Digital Infrastructure for a “Voice First” Language Translation platform in Nepal.
The MEA said both sides welcomed recent initiatives to enhance cooperation in innovation and startups, digital and financial technology, and training and capacity building. The ministers agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen the multifaceted India-Nepal partnership.
The two sides also welcomed the completion of internal processes for the entry into force of the India-Nepal Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in Criminal Matters (MLAA). According to the MEA, the agreement will provide an institutional legal framework to enhance the effectiveness of investigations, prosecutions and judicial proceedings related to cross-border crimes.
During the meeting, Jaishankar handed over to Nepal 72 health facilities and 12 cultural heritage sector projects completed under India’s post-2015 Earthquake Reconstruction Assistance programme.
Khanal, who arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit, also met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
In his remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar said India and Nepal share a “very special relationship” built on people-to-people ties, cross-border connectivity and shared cultural and religious traditions.
“We believe that today there is an opportunity to decisively shift the trajectory of India-Nepal relations and to realise the full potential of our ties,” he said.
Khanal said Nepal accords the “highest priority” to its relationship with India and that his government was ready to engage “substantively and purposefully” with New Delhi.
“We carry no old baggage and have only firm resolve for a genuinely transformative relationship with our close neighbour and the most important partner,” he said.
Following the talks, both sides reiterated their commitment to expanding cooperation across traditional sectors as well as newer areas such as startups, digital technology and innovation.
