Rail services between India and Nepal were restored on Saturday following Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to India.

Nepal has been balancing between India and China but over time, China’s influence over Kathmandu has risen with heavy investments from Beijing.

In light of that, the Nepalese PM made his first foreign visit to India since coming back to power last year.

Deuba met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday during his three-day visit of the country where they virtually flagged off a passenger train connecting the Indian state of Bihar with Nepal.

Notably, this is the first rail link between the neighbouring countries since services were halted for upgrades in 2014.

PM Modi said that both the leaders agreed to prioritise trade and cross-border connectivity initiatives.

He said, “Such schemes will make a wonderful contribution for smooth, hassle-free exchange of people between the two countries.”

The two neighbours also finalized agreements on the supply of petroleum products and released a joint vision statement on power sector cooperation.

The Nepal PM’s India visit comes days after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited both the countries.