New Delhi: In an attempt to go past the bitterness of recent incidents and build a “forward-looking relationship”, visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on Saturday and decided on new “game-changer” initiatives including a cross-border electric rail link between Kathmandu and Raxaul in Bihar, connecting Nepal to the Indian railway system, and a separate river transport system that could give Nepal a route all the way to the sea.
The Indian offer to enhance Nepal’s connectivity comes at the time of China’s aggressive infrastructure offensive in the Himalayan country in the form of One Belt One Road initiative.
On Saturday India and Nepal also decided to build a “new partnership” in agriculture, defence, energy and trade, a reflection of India’s bid to actively counter China in the region.
