Indian Minister for Commerce, Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has told Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari that India is positive about providing additional air routes to Nepal.
Prabhu told Adhikari, who is in India to participate in the Global Aviation Summit being held in Mumbai, that India is currently working on inter-ministry coordination about the issue.
India has been dallying on the issue of giving additional air routes despite agreeing to provide three additional entry routes for airplanes to Nepal in mid-June last year.
“We had completely positive talks,” Minister Adhikari told Setopati about his meeting with the Indian minister. “We have agreed to expedite the works about additional air routes.”
Joint-secretary at the ministry Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, who has been taking part in the bilateral talks, said the Indian side has assured to take initiative for the works related to providing the air routes. “Nepal has taken this positively,” Lamichhane said.
India had agreed in principle to provide additional entry routes for airplanes to Nepal through Janakpur, Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar apart from Birgunj on June 16, 2018. But India had been pointing at its air force base in Patna and it cannot allow planes to travel through the area.
Minister Adhikari also talked with ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu on the sidelines of the summit. “The meetings have been fruitful,” Joint-secretary Lamichhane told Setopati.
