The Hindu : India, Nepal to strengthen ties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003

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India, Nepal to strengthen ties

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 25. India and Nepal have agreed to advance the regional cooperation agenda, including a framework free trade treaty, at the coming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad in January.

During a meeting between the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and his Nepalese counterpart, Surya Bahadur Thapa, on Monday, the two leaders reviewed the progress in SAARC since the January 2002 Kathmandu summit. Mr. Thapa, who called on the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and had meetings with the External Affairs and Defence Ministers, Yashwant Sinha and George Fernandes, also discussed the current situation in Nepal.

A press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said: "The Prime Minister of India expressed concern over the serious security situation prevailing in Nepal and stressed the need to take urgent broad-based measures to deal with it.

"In this context, [the] Prime Minister reaffirmed India's consistent position that a national consensus needs to be evolved based on the principles of multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy," the statement said. Calling upon both the institution of the monarchy and political parties to demonstrate flexibility, the release said a consensus to deal with the challenges posed by the Maoist insurgency was required.

"A representative Government, with the participation of all parliamentary parties, working in close cooperation with the monarchy, would assist in evolving such a national response to the situation." According to well-placed Government sources, Mr. Thapa painted an "optimistic" picture of the measures taken to deal with the Maoist insurgency, a view that New Delhi did not fully share. The sources said India and Nepal were cooperating on the defence front as well, with a long-term programme in place for the purpose. An operational group dealing with military supplies and sharing of intelligence information had also been put in place.

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