Oli, who came back home after a three-day visit to India on Sunday, made such remarks at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu.
“I conveyed the top Indian political leadership that Nepal wants to develop relationship with India and our neighbours in line with the changing times in this 21st Century. I found they were quite positive to my opinion,” Oli said referring to his meetings with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said that his visit has taken bilateral ties between the two countries to a new high.
“Nepal and India are two sovereign countries and good friends. We want to develop goodwill and mutual trust according to the change of times. I believe that my visit was productive to building mutual trust and friendship between the two countries,” Oli was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Mentioning the three bilateral co-operation deals reached between the two sides during his visit, the Prime Minister said that these deals are important for both countries to enhance connectivity.
The three deals involve a new railway line from Raxaual city of Indian state of Bihar to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, inland waterways and organic agriculture.
The two sides also agreed to speed up the India-funded development projects in Nepal, including the Pancheswor Multipurpose Project.
Oli was on a three-day visit to India – his first foreign trip after taking charge as Nepal prime minister for the second time in February. The visit kept up with the tradition of India-Nepal ties under which the prime minister always makes the first visit to India.
However, the trip came amid a hitch in bilateral ties after Oli had to step down as Nepal prime minister in 2016 following a blockade on the India-Nepal border. Many in the Himalayan nation blamed India for the blockade that crippled the economy of the landlocked country.
The ties were further strained after Nepal decided to join China’s One Belt One Road amid India’s concerns that the Chinese initiative would harm its strategic and economic interests. Nepal has also signed a host of trade and transit pacts with China.
