Nepalese Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat yesterday held talks with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh during which key bilateral issues including impact of demonetisation on India’s aid to the Himalayan nation were discussed.
Though officials maintained that there were “political discussions” between the two sides without divulging details, it is understood that the Nepalese minister talked about the impact of India’s demonetisation on Nepal.
Nepalese envoy Deep Kumar Upadhyay last week had said that people in Nepal were facing a lot of hardship due to the demonetisation decision as high-value India currency notes were in large circulation in that country.
He said he has already raised the issue with the Indian government.
Indian currency is widely accepted in Nepal. Assuring that the issue will be resolved soon, the Indian government had set up a task force to facilitate exchange of currency notes in Nepal.
Mahat is in New Delhi to attend the Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship geo-political conference, which will cover subjects like Connectivity, Evolving Politics of Asia-Pacific, Combating State and Non-State Actors, Countering Violent Extremism Online and the Nuclear Conundrum.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, right, with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal, Prakash Sharan Mahat during a meeting in New Delhi yesterday. Nepal ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay is also seen.
