Nepal, India to sign landmark tourism pact

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Sept. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- Nepal and India will sign a landmark agreement to bolster tourism activities and develop and mutually promote the Buddhist circuit—a pilgrimage route.

A Cabinet meeting on Saturday gave its nod to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Nepal visit.

The Buddhist circuit connects four main sites—Bodhgaya in Bihar, Sarnath and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Lumbini in Nepal. In 2013, 125,496 foreigners visited Lumbini, down 7.77 percent year-on-year.

India has agreed to support the construction of the U-Thant World Peace Auditorium in Lumbini, a memorial convention centre to pay tribute to former UN Secretary General U-Thant.

Other pacts will be signed on cooperation to conserve archeological monuments and constructing a Dharmasala in Pashupatinath area, according to Tourism Ministry officials.

India has also agreed to extend support for the development of two important pilgrimage sites—Baraha Kshetra and Janakpur. Nepal and India have also decided to exchange cooperation between Lalit Kala Academies and Natya Pratisthans to promote art and culture.

The two countries have agreed to review the airspace agreement to ensure more entry routes for airlines coming into Nepal. The “singe-entry” Simara route, which is used by almost all airlines, has been facing air traffic congestions.

Nepal will propose opening three cross-border bi-directional airspaces over Biratnagar (in the eastern region), Bhairahawa (in the western region) and Nepalgunj (in the mid-western region) once an agreement on the matter is signed.

In addition, the Trans-Himalaya 2 airspace (Kathmandu-Bagdogra-Guwahati-Silchar-Imphal- Kunming), which is one of the lucrative routes for Nepal, will also be on the focus.

China has given a go-ahead to develop the trans-Himalayan airspace which is shorter, safer, more economical and more efficient for flights between Europe-Middle East and Oriental Asia. The planned routes will reduce congestion of westbound traffic flows across the Bay of Bengal.

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Sources: www.green-llotus-trekking.com