Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, who won the vote of confidence in Parliament on Sunday, have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation and collaborate in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. The two leaders spoke on Monday.

The 75 year-old Deuba got 165 votes in the 275 member House. “Spoke with Prime Minister @DeubaSherbdr to convey my congratulations and best wishes. We will work together to further enhance the wide-ranging cooperation between India and Nepal, including in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Modi said in a tweet.

Also read: After winning confidence vote, Deuba has levers to shape Nepal’s destiny

Sources said that Deuba will depend on India to strengthen the Himalayan country’s economy, which has taken a beating due to the brutal Covid 19 second wave. They also said that in the coming months many more bilateral projects could be launched with the idea of boosting connectivity between the two neighbours.

It is also learnt that with the Deuba-led government taking charge, New Delhi could look at resetting its relations with Nepal.

“The stage is now set for a reasonably stable government, steered by Deuba, the veteran Nepali congress leader for the next one-and-a-half years, till polls are held in Nepal in December 2022,” an India Narrative report said.

Also read: Nepal PM Deuba wins vote of confidence in Parliament

Udaya Shumsher Rana, member of the Nepali Congress and former minister of state for finance, earlier told India Narrative that traditionally his party has always maintained cordial and stable relations with India.

“For the Nepali Congress international relations have never been driven by domestic politics as we have been seeing in the recent past. The thrust will be to maintain good relations with all the neighbours,” Rana said, adding that India and Nepal will have to work closely in the future to be able to address issues related to the Covid 19 pandemic.