Nepal and China signed in Kathmandu on May 25 night an agreement to fight criminal activities in their border areas through exchange of information and cooperation, an official of the Nepali Home Ministry said.

The two-day meeting lasted till Monday night with the officials of the two countries discussing in detail about ways to control criminal activities along the border, The Rising Nepal newspaper on Tuesday quoted Home Ministry Joint Secretary Narayan Gopal Malegole, who led the Nepali delegation, as saying.

The two sides also discussed about the security situation in Nepal and the control of smuggling small arms by criminals in the border areas, Malegole said.

"The important outcome of the meeting was that the two sides agreed to exchange information on border security," he added.

The Chinese delegation was led by a deputy director general at the Ministry of Public Security.

It is a regular meeting between the two neighbors initiated by the Nepali side, which is a follow-up to the one held in Kathmanduin April 2000.

Nepal and China share a 1,500 km long border and six border points are open for business. The two countries had made a border inspection in 1979.

Source: Xinhua