Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle met his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Thursday evening, in his first foreign trip since taking office, for talks on strengthening bilateral economic ties.
The high-level meeting took place during Wagle's first official visit to India as finance minister, made at Sitharaman's invitation. India's foreign secretary and the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs also attended. India's finance ministry said the discussions covered topics of strengthening of bilateral economic ties in various areas, as well as initiatives to enhance connectivity for deepening of trade, investments and people-to-people exchanges. Both sides underscored the importance of further building the trade and economic partnership between the two countries, the ministry added.
India's finance ministry said in a statement that Sitharaman "conveyed her condolences on the loss of lives in the recent floods in Nepal, and conveyed India's continued support for Nepal's recovery and rebuilding efforts."
Wagle, in turn, thanked Sitharaman for the relief supplies and technical support India extended during the rescue and relief operations after the floods.
The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi separately called the talks comprehensive, saying they covered post-flood matters as well as trade, investment, energy and connectivity describing the goal as strengthening the two countries' long-standing economic partnership.
Following the bilateral talks, Nepal's Chargé d'Affaires Surendra Thapa hosted a dinner in Wagle's honour in New Delhi.
Wagle's three-day trip continues through Saturday with a packed schedule: a Friday-morning diplomatic roundtable hosted by former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, with senior Indian diplomats including Shivshankar Menon expected to attend; a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on connectivity, trade, transit and business cooperation; an evening reception hosted by India Trade Promotion Organisation chairman Jawed Ashraf; and, on Saturday, a CII business roundtable led by ITC chief Sanjiv Puri and a policy discussion at the Delhi School of Economics.
