India regrets cancellation of Nepal passport-making contract

Kathmandu, Apr 14 (ANI): India has expressed regret over the cancellation of a contract to supply of Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) to Nepal following Kathmandu's politically motivated decision.

Issuing a statement here on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said:

"It is a matter of regret that the issue has been politicized in Nepal and confidential communication from the Embassy has been publicized."

It further said that India agreed to supply the passport booklets through its government undertaking at a concessional price as a gesture of goodwill and in keeping with the friendly relations between the two countries."

"The Indian government had agreed to provide technical assistance, at its cost, that included supply of software and hardware equipments, and training of the Nepali officials for personalisation of MRPs, the statement said.

The Indian Government has also expressed its commitment to strengthen the time-tested Nepal-India relations.

On Sunday, the Nepal Cabinet had scrapped the earlier government decision to award the MRP contract to an India.

The Cabinet has instructed the Foreign Ministry to begin a fresh process of awarding MRPs printing contract through a global tender, Nepalnews reported. (ANI)