The two countries, in 2017, had finalized the comprehensive plan and modalities for execution and completion of boundary work in the next five years

Keen to strengthen ties further with India, Nepal has proposed a meeting of the Boundary Working Group (BWG) in August end or early September. This comes just days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, Independence Day.

The BWG is an important mechanism to review the boundary work. According to The Indian Express, it is a joint agency constituted by the governments of India and Nepal in 2014 to carry out works in the areas of construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars including clearance of no-man’s land and other technical tasks. The report said the group has had six meetings, with the last meeting on August 28, 2019 in Dehradun.

The two countries, in 2017, had finalized the comprehensive plan and modalities for execution and completion of boundary work in the next five years. The BWG’s inputs are critical as they are given to the governments on the basis of field-level survey, the report said.

It pointed out that the August 15 phone call between the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India, followed by the August 17 meeting between senior officials on Indian government-assisted projects in Nepal, have smoothened the way for further dialogue.

Moreover, the BWG meeting follows from the leader-level phone conversation. It had been agreed that discussions on bilateral matters will continue in the future. The report said this highlighted the willingness to take the conversation forward at the highest level of pragmatic conversation at the diplomatic level.

Read the full report in The Indian Express