Indian Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is on a visit to Nepal, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today. Minister Chouhan, who is in Nepal for the meeting of agriculture ministers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), met Prime Minister Oli at the Prime Minister’s residence, Baluwatar. Discussing the dimensions of the traditional relationship between Nepal and India, Minister Chouhan emphasised that both countries should work together for agricultural modernisation, food security and economic development.

Minister Chouhan said that bilateral agreements and joint working groups should be taken forward with speed and that he is ready to work dynamically with equal concern on important issues, leaving aside minor issues of contention. He mentioned that the recent meeting between Prime Minister Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangkok, Thailand, has drawn a promising future between the two countries.

Prime Minister Oli expressed the same view that since agriculture is the most important sector for saving human lives and developing entrepreneurship, the two neighbours should move forward together for economic development, including its modernisation. Prime Minister Oli recalled that the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi in Thailand had created an atmosphere of trust, and now it is a matter of moving forward together for economic development, not just on the basis of history or sentiment. He emphasised the need to unite for national, regional and international interests by understanding the changing global environment and paying attention to the negative impact it may have.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, and others.