Nepal, India sign MoUs under SAARC cooperation

October 5th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had to cut short his visit to Nepal this spring after an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, is expected to arrive in the Himalayan republic once more this month to complete his itinerary. Rajapaksa, who had arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day visit in March, curtailed his trip by a day after gunmen fired on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

September 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Thursday said greater cooperation among South Asian nations would be helpful in countering terrorism in the region. Talking to Maldivian Home Minister Mohammad Shahab, Malik underlined the importance of greater and prompt intelligence sharing.

August 17th, 2009 KATHMANDU - The Unified CPN (Maoist) has told Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal not to sign any agreements including the Pancheshwar multi-purpose hydro-electric project during his visit to India from August 18. During an all-party meeting called by Madhav Kumar Nepal in Singhadurbar on Sunday, Maoist leaders told Nepal not to sign any agreements with India without the consensus of the parties and asked him to focus on bilateral cooperation.

August 15th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepal's Minister for Commerce and Supplies Rajendra Mahato has said that Nepal and India will ink two key treaties to boost bilateral trade and provide more trade facilities during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's visit to New Delhi from August 18. Talking to reporters here, Mahato said: "Nepal and India will sign at least two treaties to expand trade and provide more trade facilities including opening new border points for movement of goods between the two countries." Mahato, who will accompany Nepal during the visit said, "The amendments in Nepal-India Trade Treaty - 1996 and a Treaty to Control Unauthorized Trade are the two documents on which the two nations will put their seal during Nepals visit." The other two treaties are aimed at eliminating double taxation and agreement on promotion and protection of investments.

August 14th, 2009 KATMANDU - Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday hinted that Nepal and India may reach an agreement on starting some new projects during his visit to India. Saying that his visit is aimed at strengthening mutual understanding and bilateral ties, he urged everyone not to view his visit with suspicion.

August 8th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has assured Parliament that his government will not sign any agreement with India without taking them into confidence. Madhav Kumar is visiting India for a five days goodwill visit starting from August 18, which will be his first official visit after assuming the office of the Prime Minister.

July 8th, 2009 DHAKA - The preference shown by South Asian nations for bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) may lead to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) eventually becoming redundant, trade analysts from the region have said. Attending a conference 'Managing Regional Integration in South Asia' here, analysts warned that though bilateral FTAs helped increase trade and investment between the parties, the benefits to weaker or smaller economies with limited bargaining power vis a vis the larger ones might be less.

June 9th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood said on Tuesday that a joint committee is working towards finalisation of a boundary map between India and Nepal to resolve the border issue that has long been in contention. "The technical-level committee is working towards finalisation of the map," Rakesh Sood said.

May 27th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has congratulated his Nepalese counterpart Madhav Kumar Nepal on his appointment as Prime Minister and invited the latter to visit India.

March 4th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cut short his three-day state visit to Nepal Tuesday after the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore and asked his Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to proceed to Pakistan. Bogollagama, who accompanied the 63-year-old president to Nepal, told the media Tuesday that the Sri Lankan delegation was returning to Colombo in view of the attack in Lahore city in which six players were injured and six Pakistani policemen were killed.

March 3rd, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa cut short his three-day state visit to Nepal Tuesday and is returning home due to security considerations after gunmen fired at the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan. Rajapaksa flies out of Kathmandu Tuesday afternoon, shelving his plan to visit the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini in southern Nepal Wednesday.

March 2nd, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday began his three-day state visit to Nepal amidst an unprecedented four-tier security measure in view of the dreaded Tamil Tigers' well-known capability to carry out assassinations outside the island nation. Traffic was diverted from roads leading to the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu and over 1,500 personnel from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army have been deployed to ensure the security of the 63-year-old Sri Lankan president whose government is currently locked in a battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

February 19th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to visit his Nepal in March and pray at holy Buddhist shrines in the land where the Buddha was born. Rajapaksa has accepted the invitation by Nepal's Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to pay a three-day visit, the Himalayan Times daily reported Friday.

February 19th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to visit his Nepal in March and pray at holy Buddhist shrines in the land where the Buddha was born. Rajapaksa has accepted the invitation by Nepal's Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to pay a three-day visit, the Himalayan Times daily reported Friday.

February 15th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Three months after he had accompanied Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Nepal, India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon is arriving in Kathmandu Tuesday on a two-day visit. The Indian envoy is scheduled to hold talks with Nepal's Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav and opposition leader and former premier Girija Prasad Koirala.