(Image source from: Nepal PM Oli arrives for six day India visit to reassure bilateral relationship})

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, arrived on a six-day visit to India on Friday afternoon and is expected to seal the crucial bilateral agreements on Saturday. The visit is primarily aimed at reassuring Nepal’s topmost leadership, that India did not harbour any “negative intention” about Nepal’s stability and unity.

“This visit is a confidence-boosting step. It’s not just about agreements and accords. We want to remove the impression that some in Nepal have, that India somehow supports the internal problem between the Madhesis of Nepal’s Terai region and the government in Kathmandu”, said a diplomatic source.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on Saturday held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart K P Oli and said that Nepal's stability is linked with India's security. "Nepal has made praiseworthy progress in the last few years as far as democracy and federalism is concerned," PM Modi said while addressing a joint press conference with his Nepalese counterpart K P Oli in Delhi.

"We are working on hydro projects with a combined cap of 7000 MW, their quick and successful completion can be a gateway to Nepal's economic prosperity," PM Modi said. Transport corridors between India and Nepal can act as highways for development," PM Modi said.

"The main reason for my visit is to clear the misunderstandings between India and Nepal that have settled in the last few months," Nepal PM KP Oli said.

"The main aim of the prime minister's visit to India will be to strengthen friendly ties between the two countries," information minister Sherdhan Rai said. "No doubt, the bilateral relations have passed through a rough phase and there have been some misunderstanding between the two countries in the recent period due to certain reasons. We need to clear the misunderstandings, and there is also a need to make Nepal-India relations strong and vibrant for all time," he said.

"If past agreements and understandings are not translated into reality, it may lead to a deficit of trust.cTherefore we want to implement the past understandings and agreements in their letter and spirit," he added.

"The visit will be a historic one and fruitful for the country. Some people have been making remarks that Nepal was playing the China card and the PM's forthcoming visit to the northern neighbour will be just a formality," he said.

"However, we are laying down important foundations for making the proposed visit a fruitful one. Nepal government has made necessary preparations for signing trade and transit treaties with China during the upcoming visit," Mr Rai said.

"The government is also working out grounds for fuel trade with China on a long term basis and efforts are on to open and operationalise more trading points in the country's northern border with China. Besides these, other important agreements and understanding will be reached with China keeping our national interest at the centre and development needs of the country in mind," he said.

Oli is accompanied by wife Radhika Shakya, Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Kamal Thapa, finance minister Bishnu Poudyal, energy minister Top Bahadur Rayamaji and home minister Shakti Basnet among others.

By Premji