Nepal and India Act to End Trade, Transit Dispute
India and Nepal took a major step toward improving their strained relations by agreeing to end a 14-month-old trade and transit dispute that has staggered Nepal’s economy, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
The dispute was resolved during a two-hour meeting Friday involving Indian Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh and his Nepalese counterpart, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, the Indian official said.
The spokesman said that New Delhi agreed to a separate trade and transit treaty as demanded by Katmandu.
In return, the Nepalese leader said the Himalayan kingdom, which is sandwiched between China and India, “would take into account India’s security concerns,” the official said.
Nepal had angered India by buying weapons from China, which New Delhi viewed as a violation of their friendship treaty. Katmandu earlier this week pledged to stop buying arms from Beijing.
Details of the pact were not disclosed.
Bhattarai arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day official visit aimed at resolving the thorny trade and transit dispute that has devastated his country’s economy.
Landlocked Nepal depends on the eastern Indian port of Calcutta for shipment of its exports and imports.
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