Kathmandu, July 3

Vice President Paramananda Jha Tuesday said that literature and arts were precious heritage of any country.Inaugurating the 9th Conference of All India Poetess Conference by lighting oil lamp here, he expressed his hope that the conference would be a platform for participating women of the two countries to share their talents and take the age-old friendship of Nepal and India to a new level.

Expressing his happiness over the significant participation of women engaged in literature and arts in the conference Vice President Jha said that a society prospered where women were respected.

"Not only Nepal and India share sound political relationship but they also enjoy healthy social, economic and cultural ties," said he hoping that the friendship of the two countries would strengthen in the future.

Speaking at the programme, Indian envoy to Nepal Jayanta Prasad said that geographical and cultural ties between Nepal and India had played an intrinsic role in shaping the relationship between the two countries.

Lauding the efforts to organise the conference to bring together the women of the two countries who had pioneered in arts and literature in Nepal, he said that similar endeavour to take Nepali litterateurs and artistes to India would be made in the future.

The five-day programme was followed by poetry recitals and cultural performances from participants of both countries.