Prime Minister Deuba met his Indian counterpart on Saturday during a three-day trip to New Delhi and signed a slew of agreements to enhance their ties, as the Himalayan nation also deepens relations with India’s rival China.

Sher Bahadur Deuba met Narendra Modi on his first foreign trip since becoming Nepal’s prime minister last year after the fall of a Communist government in Kathmandu.

The leaders discussed the bilateral relations and later virtually waved flags at the inaugural run of passenger train services between the neighbors. They said at a joint news briefing they planned to deepen their cross-border engagement.

The visit comes amid growing concerns among India’s strategic experts that New Delhi is losing influence over the Himalayan country to rival China, which has been showering Nepal with investments in infrastructure development and helping with millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

It is tradition for Nepalese prime ministers soon after taking over office to visit the southern neighbor India, which has always had major political and economic influence over Nepal.