Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the foreign secretary of India, has arrived in Kathmandu.
Kwatra has arrived in Kathmandu at the invitation of Bharatraj Paudyal, the foreign secretary of Nepal. Kwatra was greeted by Foreign Secretary Paudyal at Tribhuvan International Airport.
Today, Kwatra will hold high-level meetings with Nepali officials. He will first hold a meeting with Foreign Secretary Paudyal.
The summit at the Hotel Yak & Yeti will cover half a dozen topics of bilateral cooperation, including connectivity, electricity trade, tourism, agriculture, health, and culture, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nepal is also going to raise the issue of the border problem in the talks with the Foreign Secretary, it is learnt. India has encroached on the Nepali territory of Kalapani and Limpiyadhura. Three years ago, after India made a political map including Kalapani, Nepal also made a map including Limpiyadhura. Since then, India has been rejecting Nepal's proposal to sit for talks on the border issue.
During his visit, talks on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visiting India soon will also be discussed. It is said that he will invite PM Dahal to visit Nepal.
Kwatra is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal today. After that, he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Dahal and President Bidya Devi Bhandari in the afternoon.
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.
India is suspicious of recent increased activity by western countries, including the US, in Nepal.
Two senior officials from America visited Nepal in the past two weeks. Similarly, Afreen Akhter, another American official who looks after South Asian affairs, is also about to come to Nepal today.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has termed Kwatra's visit as an opportunity to further expand and strengthen the relationship between the two countries. "This visit is a continuation of the regular visit between the two friendly neighbors," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nepal and India jointly announced the visit on Friday. This is Kwatra's first visit to Nepal after assuming the charge of Foreign Secretary.
This visit is going to be held in accordance with the tradition of regular high-level meetings between the two countries and the priority given by India to relations with Nepal under India's 'neighbor first' policy.
"During the visit, Foreign Secretaries Kwatra and Paudyal will have extensive discussions on various aspects of multi-faceted cooperation between India and Nepal," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The Indian Foreign Secretary will return home on Tuesday.
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