Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is going to Bangkok to participate in the sixth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
The next BIMSTEC summit is taking place on September 4. As a member country of BIMSTEC, Nepal has been participating in the summit.
Nepal had started an initiative to make Prime Minister Oli's visit bilateral. After Thailand's positive response to Nepal's initiative, both countries are preparing to announce the visit simultaneously, a high-ranking source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Nepalkhabar.
"The visit will certainly be bilateral," the source said, "Both sides (Nepal and Thailand) are preparing to announce the visit together."
Although Prime Minister Oli's visit will take place around the time of the summit, the ministry sources did not want to reveal whether it will take place before or after the summit.
Similarly, the issue of making the visit 'official' is yet to be decided. High-level visits are typically formal or official.
Both countries have also intensified their homework on the agenda items of the visit. "Agenda is being developed," a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "We're currently discussing what to include on the agenda."
Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba called Thai Ambassador Suwapong Sirisorn to the ministry on Monday to finalize the agenda items for the visit. Along with this, Prime Minister Oli is going to make his first foreign visit from Thailand after he took charge as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the fourth term on July 14.
The head of Nepal government is conducting a bilateral visit to Thailand after 18 years. In 2006, then-Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala visited Thailand.
When there was a monarchy in Nepal, there used to be frequent visits between Nepal and Thailand. However, after the monarchy was removed from Nepal by the second People's Movement in 2006, high-level visits between the two countries have become rare. Thailand still has a monarchy.
There have been only two high-level visits from Thailand since the establishment of the Republic. In 2017, Thai Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn visited Nepal in 2017 and another Princess Chulabhorn came to Nepal in 2018.
