KATHMANDU, June 1: Nepal has urged India to hold the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission at the foreign minister level at the earliest.

In his congratulatory message to newly-appointed External Affairs Minister of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali mentioned that Nepal is looking forward to hold the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission at a mutually convenient time, according to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The fifth joint commission meeting was expected to be held in mid-February in Kathmandu but postponed due to Indian general elections. "We are expecting to hold the JC meeting as early as possible. The date for the meeting will be confirmed through diplomatic channels," a senior official at the MoFA told Republica Online.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar could make his first visit to Nepal soon if the two sides agreed through diplomatic channels.

The JC meeting is expected to make a comprehensive review on all aspects of Nepal-India relations under five broad clusters namely political, security and boundary; economic cooperation and infrastructure; trade and transit; power and water resources; culture and education. 

Formed in 1987, the Joint Commission is a bilateral mechanism at the foreign minister’s level with a mandate of reviewing the entire spectrum of Nepal-India bilateral relations. 

 
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