India ready to review 1950 Treaty with Nepal

NEW DELHI: Accepting Nepal's long pending demand, India today agreed for a review of a 58-year-old treaty with it to reflect "today's realities" as the two sides decided to reactivate bilateral mechanisms to take forward the "unique" relations between the two neighbours.

Nepal has been keen to review the 1950 bilateral Trade and Transit Treaty for many years. New Delhi's readiness to "review and update" the Treaty has been conveyed to the visiting Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda during his wideranging talks with Indian leadership.

"We hope to do that (review and update the Treaty) between the Foreign Secretaries of the two sides," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters here.

Prachanda, who is on his maiden visit to India after assuming office last month, has been pressing for replacing the Treaty with a new one on the ground that it is not in tune with the present situation.

Kathmandu feels the Treaty, which governs relationship between the two countries in most of the aspects, is not favourable to the Himalayan nation.

"Both sides should sit together to review to reflect today's realities. By updating, I am not limiting our options," he said on being asked whether New Delhi was open to the idea of basic changes in the Treaty.

Menon said besides Foreign Secretaries, Home Secretaries of the two countries would also be meeting to review the security concerns and other issues.

Secretaries of Water Resources and Commerce would also be meeting soon as part of efforts to review the entire gamut, economic ties between the two countries.