India and Nepal today expressed their determination in combating terrorism as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Kathmandu of further strengthening security forces, including the Nepal police to curb the Maoist insurgency.New Delhi’s assurance was contained in the joint statement issued at the end of the five-day visit of the Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba. ‘‘The Prime Ministers reiterated the determination of the two countries in combating the scourge of terrorism. They agreed to further intensify cooperation in curbing the activities of the extremists. In this context, they express satisfaction at the ongoing cooperation under the existing mechanism in the areas of equipment, training and exchange of information,” the statement said. Deuba thanked the Government of India for the ‘‘timely and substantive” support provided by India in Nepal’s efforts to deal with the Maoist insurgency.Singh reassured the support of the Government of India for further strengthening of Nepal’s security forces, including the Nepal Police, the statement said.The two PMs stressed the need for early conclusion of the extradition treaty and agreement on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters and directed the home secretaries to take up the matter in the next meeting in October to finalise the documents.On boundary demarcation, the two prime ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress made by the joint technical-level Boundary Committee and directed it to complete the remaining mandated task by June next year.
