Former Foreign Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Saturday stressed on the need for support from the Indian side for foreign access and international market to Nepal.

Speaking at a program organized by the Indian Council for International cooperation titled “Nepal-India Relations in the Changing geo-political Context”, leader Mahat said “Nepal-India relations are dictated on the one hand by a sense of what we have as the rich legacy of centuries-old coexistence of the two societies, the two countries and the peoples and, on the other, by the abounding optimism about the immense possibility at our disposal for future.”

He added “the reflection of the past and its unbiased assessment is important to have a fair sense of what we did right and where we lagged behind. More important is to forge a clear vision of how we want our relations to evolve in the days to come and how we work to translate the vision into reality.”

Addressing the talk program as a key note speaker, Dr Mahat said both countries have been brought closer by our steadfast commitment to democratic values, practices and system of governance. He further remembered that Nepali Congress leader B. P. Koirala along with others fought for India’ freedom struggle while Indian leadership at different times supported Nepal’s democratic movement.

Former Foreign Minister Dr Mahat said that development cooperation has been a vital component of Nepal-India relations.

On a different note, former Dr Mahat said “as a landlocked country, Nepal’s developmental challenges are unique and more in number. From a close neighbor like India, we, therefore, expect a generous appreciation of these challenges and the most supportive disposition as we aspire to overcome the geographic hurdles of being landlocked, upgrades our infrastructure, and expand and diversify our trade and economy.”