Kathmandu, Feb. 14: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha and visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a meeting on Tuesday.

In the courtesy meeting held at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, a preliminary discussion was held regarding the construction of the Raxaul-Kathmandu railway.

During the meeting, Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra was also interested in the issue of renewal of the Jayanagar-Kurta train operation, which is being operated by an Indian company, KRCL. Foreign Secretary Kwatra raised the issue of renewal as it was about to expire.

Similarly, Kwatra suggested that if Nepali technical personnel can be trained and skilled for railway operation, they can do the work of railway operation in Nepal. If this can be done, Nepal's railway service will be sustainable, safe and reliable, he said.

In response, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha said that it is positive and important to make Nepali technical manpower efficient for railway operations. Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also talked about the economic prosperity of Nepal including railways, the treaty agreement between Nepal and India and the projects invested by the Indian side.

Likewise, Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra was also interested regarding the speedy construction of the access road of Arun III project. In response, Shrestha said that they will proceed with it.

There was an open discussion between Shrestha and Kwatra on the issue of Nepal's economic prosperity through bilateral talks. A discussion was also held on bilateral discussions regarding the treaty agreements between Nepal and India at different times. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also discussed with the Indian ambassador about railway services and various projects invested by India.