Prime Ministers of Nepal and India Sher Bahadur Deuba and Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off the Kurtha-Jayanagar train, officially announcing the cross-border railway services between the two countries.
Financed and constructed with Indian assistance, with the formal inauguration of the railway, the railway service will open for the general public soon, according to officials.
The trains were on a dry run for months for a lack of Nepali law for the railway operation. The government had recently reintroduced an ordinance for the operation of the cross-border railway.
The inauguration ceremony was held shortly after the delegation level talks between Nepali and Indian officials led by Deuba and Modi. A separate function was organized in Janakpur.
India has spent around Rs 10 billion to rebuild the old railway track, and the Nepal government has purchased two train sets for around Rs1 billion.
Earlier, two prime ministers had held the delegation level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday.
“The two prime ministers exchanged their views on ways to further strengthen bilateral ties and advance cooperation in multiple areas for the mutual benefits of the peoples of both countries,” the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet shortly after the meeting.
“Working together to take India-Nepal relations to newer heights,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs tweeted an image of Deuba and Modi holding talks.
“Wide-ranging talks on our multifaceted partnership are on the agenda.”
Deuba reached New Delhi on Friday on a three-day official visit.
On Friday, India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Deuba and discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest.
“Pleased to call on PM @SherBDeuba of Nepal during his official visit to India. Confident that this visit will further strengthen our close neighborly relations,” Jaishankar wrote on Twitter after his meeting.
On Friday itself, Deuba visited the headquarters of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
His spouse Arzu Rana Deuba and four ministers accompanied him to the BJP office where the party President JP Nadda welcomed them.
Deuba’s visit to a political party office in India marks the first such visit by a Nepali politician, which has generated various commentaries in Nepal.
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