New Delhi, June 24 (UNI) India and Nepal held the 16th Meeting of the Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues in Pune on June 23-24, during which the discussions focused on issues relating to security and defence cooperation.

The Indian delegation was led by Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), Ministry of External Affairs, and the Nepali delegation was led by Gahendra Rajbhandari, Joint Secretary (South Asia), Nepal’s Ministry of the Foreign Affairs.

The delegations comprised officials from the respective Foreign and Defence Ministries as well as Directorates of the Indian Army and the Nepali Army, a statement said

Both sides held productive discussions on a wide range of issues relating to security and defence cooperation such as equipment supplies, training, joint military exercises, disaster relief operations and military exchanges.

In addition, the delegations also visited key public and private defence sector manufacturing facilities to explore possibilities for mutually beneficial collaboration.

The India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues (INBCGSI), which was established in 2003, is the umbrella institutional mechanism between India and Nepal that coordinates bilateral defence and security cooperation, it added.

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