Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, accompanied by his wife Arzu Deuba, will pay an official visit to India between April 1 and 3. A high-level delegation including Nepalese foreign minister Narayan Khadka along with other senior ministers, secretaries and officials will accompany Deuba in his first bilateral visit abroad since he assumed office in July last year.
Deuba will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2.
He will meet Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu. External affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will also call on the Nepalese Prime Minister, who is expected to visit Varanasi.
According to an official statement, “the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review this wide ranging cooperative partnership and to progress it further for the benefit of the two peoples.”
This is Deuba’s second official overseas trip. In November, he travelled to Glasgow to participate in the UN climate conference.
Deuba was earlier scheduled to visit India in January. But the trip had to be cancelled due to the surge in Covid 19 cases.
Since Deuba’s appointment as PM, several high-level visits of senior officials, dignitaries and even members of ruling parties of both countries have taken place.
In October, a three-member delegation of the Nepali Congress led by head of party's international department Prakash Sharan Mahat visited India leading to opening of informal channel and party to party engagements as well.
Earlier, in an interview to Rising Nepal, Deuba had said, “We have an open border with India and there is people-to-people exchange at the greater level so maintaining good relations with the southern neighbour is in our interest. Nepalis go to India for work and pilgrimage.”
“We have more intensive public, cultural and commercial relations with it,” he told the news organisation.
While around 6 lakh Indians are living in Nepal about 8 lakh Nepalese have made India their home.
