This development has taken place just 48 hours away from the first scheduled diplomatic level meet between the two countries

In his bid to open a communication line with India which took umbrage of Nepal’s unilateral decision to issue a new map by placing Indian territories in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district into the Himalayan country, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli dialed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and extended his country’s greetings on India’s 74th Independence Day.

“The Prime Minister of Nepal greeted the Government and People of India on the occasion of its 74th Independence Day, and also conveyed congratulations for India’s recent election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press note.

During their talks, the two leaders also expressed mutual solidarity in the context of the efforts being made to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in both countries. The Prime Minister offered India’s continued support to Nepal in this regard.

The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Nepal for his telephone call and recalled the civilizational and cultural links that India and Nepal share.

This development has taken place just 48 hours away from the first diplomatic level meeting between the two countries on August 17. Indian ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Bairagi will hold their meet under the ‘oversight mechanism’ and review status of on-going infrastructure related projects, border trade and hydro projects that India plans to undertake in the Himalayan country.

However, the two countries during talks under ‘oversight mechanism’ will not discuss about the border issue, sources said.