Indian Foreign Secretary Vinaya Mohan Kwatra is arriving in Nepal tomorrow (Monday).
Kwatra is coming on a two-day official visit to Nepal at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
He is going to be the top Indian official to visit Nepal following the formation of the new government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
As soon as he lands in Kathmandu tomorrow, Kwatra will hold a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart Paudyal.
The meeting will be focused on half a dozen topics including connectivity, power trade, tourism, agriculture, health and culture, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his Nepal visit, it is learnt, Kwatra will invite Prime Minister Dahal to visit India.
He will hold meetings with Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal, Prime Minister Dahal and President Bidya Bhandari tomorrow itself.
Kwatra will also pay courtesy calls on CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba among others during his stay in Kathmandu.
His Nepal visit is viewed significant since it is taking place less than one month before the election of the President. The election for the president is scheduled for March 9.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that Kwatra’s Nepal visit will further bolster age-old friendly ties between Nepal and India.
“This visit is a continuation of the regular visits between the two friendly countries,” said the Foreign Ministry, “This high-level regular visit is taking place under India’s policy that priorities its neighboring country.”
Earlier, Paudyal had visited India at the invitation of his Indian counterpart on September 13-14.
Kwatra will return home on Tuesday.
Southern neighbor India is also sending a diplomat on an official visit to Nepal amidst increasing visits to Nepal from America and Europe, of late,
The increasing number of visits to Nepal from America and Europe seems to have caused a sense of alarm in New Delhi.
Two top US officials have recently visited Nepal. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, visited recently and USAID Administrator Samantha Power visited Nepal last week. Nuland held meetings with high ranking Nepali officials including the prime minister during her visit.
Similarly, during her two-day visit, Power held meetings with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, ‘Prachanda’, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paydyal.
Similarly, US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), Afreen Akhter, is arriving in Kathmandu on Monday. Kwatra will also arrive on the same day, Akhter lands in Kathmandu.
Likewise, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, returned home after conducting a one-day Nepal visit last Wednesday.
