Nepal PM Deuba to travel to India on Friday on maiden three-day visit

PTI

Kathmandu, March 28

Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba would travel to India on Friday on a maiden three-day visit during which he would hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and other senior leaders to further strengthen the multifaceted, age-old, and cordial ties between the two countries.

This will be Deuba’s first foreign visit since he assumed office in July last year for a record fifth time.

Deuba, accompanied by his spouse Arzu Rana Deuba, will pay an official visit to India from April 1 to 3 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said.

A high-level delegation comprising Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, other senior ministers, secretaries and top government officials, will accompany him during the visit, it said.

“The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted, age-old, and cordial ties between Nepal and India,” the ministry said.

During the visit, Prime Minister Deuba will hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart and also meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in honour of his Nepal counterpart.

During his stay in New Delhi, Prime Minister Deuba will also address a gathering of business leaders. He is also scheduled to visit Varanasi before wrapping up his trip on April 3.

Earlier in January, he was scheduled to travel to India to participate in a business summit in Gujarat. However, the trip was cancelled after the summit was postponed due to the growing cases of Covid-19.

Deuba and Modi had met in Glasgow, Scotland in November last year on the sidelines of the UN climate conference and had a “fruitful talks” on many aspects of India-Nepal friendship.

Deuba had thanked his Indian counterpart for providing support to Nepal in essential medical supplies and vaccines in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic during their first meeting in Glasgow.

During the meeting, overall matters of the bilateral relations were discussed.

Deuba’s visit is taking place immediately after Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi’s three-day tour to Nepal from March 25 to March 27.

Nepal has recently appointed senior economist Shankar Prasad Sharma as its ambassador to India.