A 37-member youth delegation from India visited Nepal from April 4 to April 11 at the invitation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Nepal. According to a press statement issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, the Youth Exchange Programme was held in pursuance of the November 2014 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and its Indian counterpart, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The delegation comprised students from different parts of India, affiliated to leading educational institutions such as IITs, AIIMS, NIT, National Law School of India, as well as Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development.
Politics in India and Its Influence
During their week-long stay in Nepal, the delegates met with officials from National Youth Council of Nepal, Nepal Tourism Board, Chamber of Commerce (Youth Wing). They visited the Pashupatinath Temple, Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Nagarkot, and also travelled to Lumbini, Chitwan and Pokhara, according to the press statement.
The first youth delegation of Nepal, led by the then Minister of Youth and Sports Purushottam Paudel, had visited India in April, 2015. From the Indian side, the first visit of a youth delegation took place during March 10 to 17, 2017 when a 47-member delegation visited Nepal. In April 2017, the second youth delegation of Nepal comprising 49 delegates, led by the sports secretary of the Government of Nepal, visited India as per the press statement.
The statement further added that the youth delegation found the exchange program to be a great learning experience that helped them in acknowledging and appreciating the deep bond of friendship between India and Nepal.