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NEW DELHI, March 23 (AFP) - India and its Himalayan neighbour Nepal pledged Saturday to co-operate in tackling cross-border terrorism and agreed to promote two-way trade and strengthen local transit regulations.

India and Nepal in a joint statement also decided to strengthen a 1953 extradition treaty and finalise an accord on mutual legal assistance to better policing of their porous borders, punctuated by 18 transit points, officials said.

The statement issued at the end of official talks between visiting Nepalese Premier Sher Bahardur Deuba and India's national leaders also "reiterated their opposition to the use of violence in the pursuit of political or ideological objectives."

It said India condemned widespread attacks by the Maoist insurgents currently waging a anti-government insurgency in Nepal and reiterated its support for the steps taken by Kathmandu to maintain peace and security in the Himalayan Kingdom."

More than 2,700 people have died since the Maoists began their fight for a communist republic in Nepal in 1996.

"The Nepalese side deplored the December 13 brutal attack on the Indian parliament and expressed its support for India in its efforts to confront the challenge of terrorism," the statement added.

India blames the bloody raid on its national parliament on two Pakistan-based Islamic fundamentalist groups and insists the gunmen who stormed the federal legislature were backed by the military intelligence of President Pervez Musharraf's government.

Deuba and his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee "renewed the commitment of the two countries not to allow their respective territories to be used for activities inimical to the interest of the other," the statement added.

In November, Kathmandu imposed a state of emergency and deployed the army against the Maoist guerrillas for the first time after they broke a four-month ceasefire with a series of bloody attacks on police and military posts.

Nepalese officials have alleged the Maoists have support networks across the border in adjoining Bihar, India's most lawless state.

India, which accuses Islambad of masterminding the 1999 hijack of a home-bound Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu, says Pakistani secret services as well as Pakistan-based Islamic guerrillas use Nepal as a launch-pad to strike against targets in India.

During Deuba's talks with Vajpayee on Thursday, India offered military assistance to help Nepal stamp out the increasingly violent Maoist insurgency.

The statement said the two sides also decided to further improve relations in fields of investment and trade and work closely to avoid flooding of their territories.

"It was decided during wide-ranging discussions between Deuba and Vajpayee that the two countries would focus on a forward-looking and constructive agenda to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"The two sides also agreed to hold regular meetings of the India-Nepal joint commission ... to oversee the entire gamut of bilateral relations and provide the directives on measures to further strengthen them.

"The two leaders hoped a renewed trade treaty would pave the way for increased bilateral trade and encourage the pace and process of industrialisation in Nepal," it added.

The joint statement was issued as Deuba left New Delhi for talks in the Marxist-ruled state of West Bengal to seek its assistance in putting down the Maoists.

The Indian states of West Bengal and Bihar adjoins the former Himalayan kingdom.

Deuba, who is on a six-day visit to India will meet state West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya on Monday to discuss the issue.

Deuba is also accompanied by a 32-member delegation including several government ministers, parliamentarians as well as Nepalese businessmen. 

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