New Delhi, April 2 : India and Nepal agreed to focus on cooperation in the hydropower sector in a major way, including extending the cooperation with neighbouring countries under the BBIN framework, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the age-old civilizational links binding the two neighbours during his meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba here today. The meeting between the two sides saw the launch and operationalisation of the 35 km long cross border rail link from Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal, built with Indian assistance, and also inauguration of the 90 km long 132 KV Solu Corridor transmission line built with Indian Line of Credit at a cost of INR 200 crore. The two sides also witnessed launch of the RuPay Card in Nepal and witnessed the progress in construction of the 132 Health facilities in Nepal, undertaken with a US$ 50 million grant from India in post-earthquake reconstruction. PM Modi in his remarks stressed on the age-old civilizational links and the Hindu links binding India and Nepal. He conveyed greetings on the occasion of the Hindu New Year and also of the Chaitra Navratri to the visiting Nepal PM and to the people of Nepal. Deuba is visiting Varanasi tomorrow. Modi said their bilateral friendship and ancient linkages is something not seen in any part of the world. “Such an example of our friendship and civilizational links cannot be seen in the world. We’ve been partners through our good times and sorrowful times. These provide energy to our ties and our efforts to enhance bilateral ties are inspired by these feelings.” “India has been and will remain Nepal’s steadfast friend in its path to peace, progress and economic prosperity,” he added. He said the two sides have agreed to participate more in Nepal’s hydropower sector. “Our joint vision statement on power cooperation will form the blueprint of our future cooperation. We have decided to push ahead with the Pancheshwar project, which will prove a game changer for the region. We have also agreed on increased participation by Indian companies in Nepal’s hydropower development projects,” he added. “It is a matter of happiness that Nepal is going to sell its surplus power to India. This will contribute to Nepal’s economic progress.” “We also discussed on the need to ensure that the open borders between India and Nepal are not misused. We stressed on close ties between our defence and security establishments,” he added. The Nepal PM, in his remarks, thanked India for providing Covid-19 vaccines “I admire the progress that India is making under the visionary leadership of PM Modi. We’ve seen India’s effective management battling Covid-19 and received first vaccine aid from India as well as medicines, medical equipment and logistics to combat Covid,” he said. For Nepal relations with India are highly important, and we look upon the tremendous progress that India has achieved and look to benefit from it,” he said. He also invited PM Modi to visit Nepal. The two sides unveiled a vision statement on cooperation in the power sector, including increased involvement of Indian companies in Nepal’s hydropower sector, purchase of surplus power by India and pushing ahead with the 6,480 MW Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project on the Mahakali River. The vision document said that Based on their respective national policies and climate-change commitments, they agreed to make renewable energy production, hydropower in particular, a cornerstone of their energy partnership. They also agreed to expand such cooperation to include their partner countries under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal framework. On the Pancheshwar Multipurpose project, the two leaders directed their concerned officials to expedite the bilateral discussions towards early finalization of the project’s Detailed Project Report. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the transfer of electricity from Nepal to India will be enhanced significantly following the talks. “This year, the amount of power that will be coming to India from Nepal will be significantly enhanced over last year. There is a great deal of progress in the paradigm of projects with Indian investment in Nepal. Both the countries will benefit from this,” the Foreign Secretary said. The two sides also witnessed Renewal of Agreement for Supply of Petroleum Products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd. (NOC), and an agreement for sharing of Technical Expertise between IOCL and NOC. Under this IOCL will impart training and knowledge to NOC personnel in the fields of aviation, quality control, engineering, pipeline, IT, terminal/depot operation, infrastructure development, safety, security, etc. RN