India on Wednesday extended its full support to Nepal in moving the constitution implementation process forward through dialogue and taking all sections of society on board as the two countries decided to expedite work on various ongoing connectivity and development projects.

New Delhi reiterated the importance of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and the high priority it attached to strengthening relations with Nepal in every sphere, said a press statement issued by the MEA on the ongoing visit of Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Incidentally, her visit came a day before Nepal and China began their first-ever 10-day joint military exercise, a development which has caused concern in Indian official circles.

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However, India has given the visiting leader, who is on her maiden overseas visit, the status of a special guest. President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other leaders held fruitful meetings with her.

According to the Indian side, during these meetings, the Nepalese President reiterated her country’s commitment to further strengthen the age-old, close and friendly ties between the two countries in diverse sectors. She thanked India for its continued support for Nepal’s socio-economic development, in particular, its support for post-earthquake reconstruction process. She conveyed Nepal’s commitment to take forward the relationship between the two countries on the basis of goodwill, understanding and mutual benefit.

Both sides noted that India-Nepal relations derive their strength and salience from shared history, common cultural ethos, and long years of close and intense people-to-people contacts facilitated by open borders.

The Indian leadership expressed support to Nepal’s endeavours to achieve socio-economic transformation for the well-being of its people. They conveyed the good wishes of the people and Government of India to the friendly people of Nepal in their national efforts to achieve peace, stability and all-round development.

The two countries reviewed with satisfaction the expanding vistas of bilateral energy cooperation, including development of hydropower projects in Nepal, power trade and development of high-capacity cross-border transmission lines.

‘’The State visit of the President of Nepal provided the opportunity to the two sides to review all aspects of bilateral relations and to reiterate their commitments to take India-Nepal partnership to a new level across diverse sectors for mutual benefit,’’ the press statement added.