GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Prime Minister on 16 May 2022 held bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in Lumbini - the birthplace of Gautam Buddha - during which they discussed ways to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in the multifaceted bilateral partnership.

What

  1. After their talks, the two sides signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on cooperation in cultural and educational sectors.
  2. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) inked separate MoUs with Lumbini Buddhist University on the establishment of Dr. Ambedkar Chair for Buddhist Studies; with Tribhuvan University on the establishment of ICCR Chair of Indian Studies and with the Kathmandu University (KU) on the establishment of the ICCR Chair of Indian Studies.
  3. An MoU between Kathmandu University (KU) and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) was also signed. A Letter of Agreement (LoA) between KU and IIT-M was signed for a joint degree programme at Master's level.
  4. It is the prime minister's fifth visit to Nepal since 2014. Modi and his entourage arrived here on a special Indian Air Force helicopter from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
  5. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.
  6. Nepal's access to the sea is through India and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.
  7. The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations between the two countries.