Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla started his two-day visit to Nepal with a meeting with his Nepali counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal.

Shringla landed in Kathmandu on Thursday morning.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two foreign secretaries discussed various aspects of bilateral relations.

“Foreign Secretary @PaudyalBR held bilateral talks with Foreign Secretary of India @harshvshringla this afternoon covering various aspects of Nepal-India bilateral relations in a cordial manner,” the Foreign Ministry said in a tweet.

“We held positive discussions,” Shringla told reporters after the meeting with Paudyal. “We discussed ways to resolve the problems between us. Our discussion was fruitful and productive. We have taken it as a very positive step.”

The Embassy of India in Kathmandu said the meeting between the two foreign secretaries was productive.

“FS @harshvshringla had a productive meeting with @PaudyalBR during which they took stock of bilateral cooperation and discussed issues of mutual interest,” the embassy said in a tweet. “Both sides appreciated the progress made on the numerous bilateral initiatives and projects. It was agreed to take further steps to advance mutual cooperation.”

Shringla’s first visit to Nepal is the first after he assumed office as foreign secretary in January this year.

During his stay in Kathmandu, Shringla will call on President Bidha Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali among others.

He will also meet with the leader of the opposition party, Sher Bahadur Deuba.

He is scheduled to deliver a lecture on Nepal-India relations at Hotel Soaltee on Friday before wrapping up his Nepal visit.

The Indian foreign secretary will also inaugurate two projects funded by the government of India in Kathmandu and Gorkha.

Shringla’s visit to Nepal follows two recent high-level visits from India–by Indian Army chief Manoj Mukunda Naravane earlier this month and Samant Goel, chief of India’s external intelligence agency in the third week of October.

After months-long pause in bilateral visits and dialogue in the wake of souring tensions between Nepal and India especially over the boundary issues, there are some growing signs of rapprochement between the two countries.

After landing at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, Shringla in a brief interview with the media said that India and Nepal are close friends

“There are meetings lined up and we will discuss how we can take this close friendship forward,” said Shringla.

Both Kathmandu and Delhi have termed Shringla’s trip as continuation of the regular exchange of high level visits between the two friendly neighbours.