Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Video Conference with South Asian leaders following the successful launch of South Asia Satellite.

According to a press release issued by Indian Embassy, the South Asia Satellite, a unique example of South Asian regional cooperation in space sector, was successfully launched today by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from Sriharikota. 

Following the launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by leaders from South Asian countries participating in the project - Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan; Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan; Abdulla Yameen, President of Maldives; Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, Prime Minister of Nepal; and Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka, in an unprecedented video-conference held to mark the launch.

Speaking at this historic occasion, the Prime Minister said that the launch of South Asia Satellite marks the fulfillment of India's commitment and also the beginning of the journey to build the most advanced frontier of our partnership.

He said that the project will touch the lives of the people of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India through regional cooperation in the area of space technology applications in telecommunication and broadcasting, tele-medicine, tele-education, e-governance, banking/ ATM services, cellular back-haul, meteorological data transmission, disaster response and networking of academic and research institutions.

The Prime Minister said that the South Asia Satellite demonstrated that our collective choices for our citizens will bring us together for cooperation, not conflict; development, not destruction; and prosperity not poverty.

The Prime Minister thanked the leaders of the participating countries for their strong and valuable support that translated this vision into reality. Prime Minister and other leaders congratulated Indian Space Research Organization on successful development and launch of the Satellite.

Ambassadors/ High Commissioners of the participating countries were also invited to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, to witness the launch.

Foreign Minister Dr. Mahat Meets Indian Foreign Minister

Nepalese foreign minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat meets Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 5 May 2017 in New Delhi.

Both the Ministers discussed the recent developments in India-Nepal relations, particularly recent high-level bilateral exchanges and implementation of all ongoing bilateral economic and developmental cooperation projects. Both the Ministers reiterated their commitment to further strengthen and deepen age-old, close and friendly ties in diverse sectors of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister of Nepal spoke about the elections in Nepal and the ongoing efforts of his government to take all stakeholders on board in the constitution implementation process. Foreign Minister of Nepal thanked India for extending logistical assistance for elections.

According to a press release issued by Indian Embassy, EAM conveyed her good wishes to Government and people of Nepal in their national efforts to achieve peace, stability and socio-economic transformation.