Amid strained ties over boundary issues, senior officials from Nepal and India on Monday discussed the status of India-funded projects in Nepal.

This was the first major bilateral dialogue between the two countries ever since the ties turned sour after Kathmandu released a new political map of Nepal incorporating some territories presently occupied by India on May 20.

During the meeting, discussions were held on the status of implementation of the ongoing projects under Nepal-India bilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Projects like Tarai roads, cross-border railway, Arun-III Hydropower Project, petroleum pipeline and Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project were discussed during the video conference meeting.

Post-earthquake reconstruction, irrigation, power and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, integrated check posts, Ramayana circuit, HICDPs, motorable bridges over Mahakali River, agriculture and cultural heritage were also discussed,, according to the ministry.

The meeting, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, underlined the need for expediting the implementation of the bilateral projects and agreed to undertake necessary measures to address the problems and obstacles.

According to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the meeting carried out a comprehensive review of bilateral economic and development cooperation projects since its 7th meeting of the Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism held on 8th July 2019.

Both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the bilateral projects, the embassy said in a statement.

The two sides also agreed to hold the ninth meeting of the mechanism on a mutually convenient date.

The mechanism was set up, following Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's state visit to India in September 2016, to oversee the implementation of bilateral projects and take necessary steps for their timely completion.

Monday's meeting comes two days after Prime Minister Oli had a phone conversation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for the first time since the map controversy.