Indian Foreign Affairs Secretary Vikram Misri is arriving Nepal to formally invite Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for an official visit to India.
According to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Vikram Misri will arrive in Nepal on August 17 to formally extend invitation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for an India visit.
New Delhi is sending diplomat Misri at a time when speculation is growing whether the long-standing strained relation between Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and New Delhi is improving.
Prime Minister Oli has been publicly saying that he is visiting India soon, of late. Indian Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation to Oli for a visit to India during their brief meetings in New York and Bangkok. However, since the invitation was only verbal, Oli has not received an invitation in writing, yet.
Earlier, in the third week of July, New Delhi had proposed the September 16-17 for the Nepali Prime Minister's visit to India.
After Prime Minister Oli accepted the visit proposed by New Delhi, preparations for the trip have begun. Both sides have started discussions on the schedule and program of the visit.
According to a source at the Foreign Ministry, New Delhi has extended Oli's visit by one more day with the intent of allowing him to visit a cultural heritage site. If the stay is for one night, the Prime Minister's visit to India will be for two days. If he stays two nights, the India visit will be September 16 to18.
Earlier, former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had visited India on May 30 to June 3, 2023. During the visit, Prachanda was also taken to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
However, Prime Minister Modi has not officially sent an invitation to his Nepali counterpart to this end as of today. Once the date and visit agendas are fixed, only then New Delhi will send an official invitation to Oli for an India visit, the officials at the Foreign Ministry said.
There is a long-standing tradition in Nepal and India where newly appointed prime ministers make their first official visit to each other's countries shortly after assuming office.
However, New Delhi has not officially invited Oli for an India visit, despite having bilateral ties going well between the two countries.
According to Nepal-India relations experts, the strained relation between Oli and New Delhi stems primarily from his critical stance on Madhesh and Madheshi agendas, issues of inclusiveness and Nepal's revised political map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura inside its borders. The Oli-led government had on May 20, 2020 made public the map showing these three territories which were left out in the earlier map.
However, Oli takes his relations with Delhi in another way. According to leaders close to Oli, his relation with New Delhi deteriorated and India did not extend him an official invitation for a visit primarily because he opposed its intervention in the constitutional making process.
Currently, Prime Minister Oli is at Awaza in Turkmenistan to participate in the Third UN Conference of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). He will return home on August 8.
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