Cabinet approves India-Nepal MoU for bridge construction over Mahakali River

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for the construction of a bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India) - Dharchula (Nepal).

"With the signing of MoU, diplomatic relation between the two countries will further improve," read an official notification from the government.

"As close neighbours, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture.  Both India and Nepal have been working together on different regional forums i.e. SAARC, BIMSTEC as well as global fora," it added.

The Union Cabinet also on Thursday approved the signing of an MoU between India and Turkmenistan on cooperation in the field of disaster management.

The MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Turkmenistan will be benefited from the disaster management mechanisms of each other and it will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building in the field of disaster management.

The Cabinet also approved the signing of an agreement between India and Spain on "Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters".

The agreement is expected to help in making available, reliable, quick and cost-effective information and intelligence for the prevention and investigation of customs offences and apprehending of customs offenders.

It would also provide a legal framework for sharing of information between the customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper administering of customs laws and detection and investigation of customs offences and the facilitation of legitimate trade.

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