India remains committed to supporting Nepali democracy and the country’s constitutional process. This was conveyed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Nepali counterpart Baburam Bhattarai at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Rio+20 summit in Brazil on Thursday.
Bhattarai spoke at length of the domestic political problems facing Nepal. He said the issues of the peace process and Maoist integration had been “settled,” but the Supreme Court ruling against the failure to complete the new constitution by May 27 had necessitated an early poll.
Singh spoke of hydroelectric cooperation, saying this constituted an important part of the relationship. At present, India provides electricity to Nepal.
Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai said India would expect that the two agreements signed with Bhattarai, including the double taxation and the investment treaties, would stand irrespective of what happened to the government in Kathmandu.
Singh also met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed the condition of the Tamil minorities. Rajapaksa told the Indian PM that only Tamilians remained in refugee camps and that 300,000 had been rehabilitated.