WORLD NEWS | Nepal describes Indian foreign minister’s visit as regular exchange between friendly neighbors

KATHMANDU, Feb. 12 (PTI) — Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Mohan Kwatra is on a two-day official visit to Nepal starting Monday, as a continuation of regular exchanges between the two friendly neighbours, Nepal’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Kwatra is visiting Nepal at the invitation of Nepalese Foreign Minister Bharat Raj Bharat. His visit to Nepal aims to promote comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

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During the visit, the Indian foreign minister will pay a courtesy call on Monday on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and External Affairs Minister Baudiar, according to Indian foreign ministry sources.

Kwatra is also expected to discuss with his Nepali interlocutors the possibility of a visit to India by Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda. Prachanda has said he will go to India on his first foreign trip.

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Kwatra will also hold bilateral talks with Paudyal at the foreign ministry in Kathmandu.

“The foreign ministers of Nepal and India will discuss various issues of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health and culture, among others,” according to a statement issued by the ministry.

“This visit is a continuation of the regular exchange of visits between the two friendly neighbors,” it said.

This will be the first high-level visit to India since Prime Minister Prachanda took office for the third time in December last year.

Apart from the formal meeting, Foreign Minister Kwatra is also expected to meet top Nepalese political leaders including Nepal Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.

Kwatra will leave Kathmandu on February 14, ending a two-day official visit, the statement said.

Kwatra served as India’s special envoy to Nepal before taking over as foreign minister on May 1 last year.

“The visit is in line with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the importance India attaches to Nepalese relations under its ‘Neighbours First’ policy,” the foreign ministry said.

India’s “neighborhood first” policy is an integral part of India’s foreign policy. The policy aims to build friendly and synergistic relations with India’s South Asian neighbors in various fields such as economy, science and technology, research and education.

According to the “Kathmandu Post” citing sources, on December 30, Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava sent Prachanda a congratulatory message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. invitation to visit India.

But whether Prachanda will make New Delhi his first stop remains uncertain, as he may first visit Qatar for the fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, scheduled for March 5-9.

Both the prime minister and the foreign minister are scheduled to attend the UN conference where Nepal will be the chair of the least developed countries.

“The prime minister will attend the two-day meeting, but I will be present for the whole thing,” the report quoted Foreign Minister Pauldial as saying.

The report quoted officials as saying that the date of the prime minister’s visit to New Delhi will be decided after Quatla’s visit.

It said that ahead of Prachanda’s visit to India, Kathmandu and New Delhi were preparing to wrap up some bilateral mechanism meetings at different levels.

It added that after two successive US visits in a short period of time, it appeared it was New Delhi’s turn to engage with the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government.

Nepal, sandwiched between India and China, has seen a number of high-profile visits by senior U.S. officials in recent weeks as Beijing’s presence in the Himalayan country has grown.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power wrapped up her visit to Nepal on Thursday.

Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Newland visited Kathmandu ahead of Powell’s visit and urged party leaders to be cautious in their dealings with neighboring countries, especially with regard to economic partnerships.

Nepal is important to India in terms of India’s overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of both countries often refer to the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.

The country shares a border of more than 1,850 kilometers with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Landlocked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transport of goods and services.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)