Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who is on a two-day official visit to Nepal, paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel on Sunday.
The courtesy meeting took place on Sunday afternoon at the president’s official residence, Sheetal Niwas.
During the meeting, President Paudel said that Nepal, as a friend and close neighbor, has benefited from India’s progress and wishes to benefit further.
“We are pleased and encouraged by India’s progress in the social, economic, and technological sectors as an emerging global power. As a friend and close neighbor, Nepal has benefited from India’s advancements and wishes to benefit more,” President Paudel was quoted as saying by his press advisor, Kiran Pokharel, during the meeting.
He highlighted that Nepal and India have shared close social, cultural, religious, spiritual, economic, and people-to-people ties for centuries, with their relationship based on sovereign equality, friendly cooperation, mutual respect, and trust.
“Nepal has always given top priority to its relationship with India. Nepal commends the Indian government's ‘Neighborhood First' policy, which gives special importance to relations with neighbors,” President Paudel added.
On the occasion, Foreign Secretary Misri noted that Nepal holds a high priority under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy of prioritizing relations with neighboring countries.
Misri also expressed confidence that his visit would provide an opportunity to discuss ways to enhance connectivity for the progress and development of both nations in the modern era and further strengthen the relations between the two countries.