US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Sameer Paul Kapoor is coming to Nepal on Monday in an effort to strengthen ties with the Balendra Shah-led government. Kapoor will be the highest-ranking foreign diplomat to visit Kathmandu since Shah took office on March 13. 

A diplomat at the Nepali Embassy in Washington, DC, and an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed that Kapoor is coming to Kathmandu for a three-day visit. According to them, Kapoor will listen to the government's priorities during his visit to Nepal and convey the message of how Washington wants to cooperate with them. The visit has not been formally announced. 

Assistant Secretary of State Kapoor is also coming to Kathmandu along with two other officials from the US State Department. It is not known whether Kapoor will meet with the political leadership during his stay in Kathmandu. According to a government official, Assistant Secretary of State Kapoor is scheduled to meet Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal, and officials and members of the Nepal-US Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others, during his visit.

He will also visit the Patan Durbar Square. It is not clear whether he will meet Prime Minister Shah or not. According to officials familiar with the visit, the US side has not made any request for a meeting with Prime Minister Shah till Friday evening. 

US President Donald Trump appointed South Asian security expert Kapoor as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in October last year, replacing Donald Lu. Kapoor visited Bangladesh in February after the new government was formed. During that time, he met high-ranking officials including Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and Minister of State Shama Obaid Islam. Kapoor did not meet Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tariq Rahman.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although Kapoor had earlier been in favor of coming to Kathmandu, the visit was postponed citing the parliamentary elections on 21 Falgun and Nepal's internal reasons. 'The US side has not given details about the visit, but seems eager to cooperate with the new government in Kathmandu. Sending high-level officials to Nepal as soon as the new government is formed also confirms that,’ said a Nepali diplomat in Washington. 

In meetings with government officials, US diplomats in Kathmandu have been concerned about the quick and smooth implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact, hassle-free investment in Nepal, and resolution of tax disputes between information technology companies Cotiviti and Coca-Cola, as well as bilateral trade. 

They have also been prioritizing the rights of Tibetan refugees in Nepal. Similarly, government officials say that they have been emphasizing the expansion of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service in Nepal during discussions.

This is the first time that a ministerial-level visit from the US to Kathmandu has been centered on Kathmandu. Earlier, US secretaries of state usually stopped in Kathmandu during their visits to India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. But this time, Assistant Secretary of State Kapoor is coming directly from Washington to Kathmandu by Turkish Airlines. And, he is scheduled to return by the same airline on Wednesday.