KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has extended greetings and congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the occasion of 74th Independence Day of India on Saturday.

Posting a Twitter message this morning, Prime Minister Oli congratulated Indian Prime Minister Modi and the people of India, wishing them peace, progress and prosperity on the happy occasion of the 47^th Independence Day.

Congratulations and greetings to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, the Government and people of India on the happy occasion of the 74th Independence Day. Best wishes for more progress and prosperity of the people of India.

— K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) August 15, 2020

According to a highly-placed source at the Office of the Prime Minister, the Nepal government is preparing to initiate talks at the diplomatic level with the southern neighbor to patch up bilateral ties that has sourced after the former issued a revised map of Nepal including disputed territories encroached by India.

With the independence greetings from Prime Minister Oli, Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi will initiate talks with Indian Ambassador to Nepal Binaya Mohan Kwatra to resolve border disputes, the source said.

The Council of Ministers had on May 18 endorsed a new map of Nepal which includes lands encroached by India.

India is celebrating its 74th Independence Day on Saturday (15th of August, 2020) to mark the historic occasion when the largest democratic country gained independence from the British empire in the year 1947.