5th Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting begins in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU - The fifth Nepal-India Joint Commission meeting has begun in the Nepali capital Kathmandu to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, authorities of Nepal and India said here.

Foreign Minister of Nepal Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar co-chaired the delegation-level meeting which kicked off on Wednesday.

The meeting aimed at reviewing the overall state of bilateral relations, and various areas of cooperation such as connectivity and economic partnership, trade and transit, power and water resources sectors, culture, education and other matters of mutual interest, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.

"Productive discussions with FM Gyawali at the 5th India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting. Comprehensively reviewed our bilateral relations and identified priority areas for cooperation," Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said on Twitter after the conclusion of the first day of the meeting.

The commission meeting will conclude on Thursday afternoon.

Nepal-India Joint Commission is a foreign minister-level bilateral mechanism between the two countries established in 1987.

The commission is mandated to review the entire gamut of bilateral matters and its meetings are held alternately in Nepal and India. The last meeting was held in New Delhi in October 2016.