Consultations will be held on the date proposal of 30-31 Baisakh from the Indian side, priorities of the new Nepali government, and expectations from Delhi.
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Since the formation of the new government under the leadership of Balendra Shah on Chaitra 13, Kathmandu has continued to host high-ranking officials from its neighbors and the United States. Following the visits of high-ranking officials from the United States and China, New Delhi is also set to send a high-ranking official to Kathmandu in the last week of Baisakh to expand relations with the government.
According to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, the Indian side has written to the government proposing the date of Baisakh 30-31 for the visit of Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishri. A formal invitation will have to be sent to Mishri by Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai to formalize the visit. Government officials have said that Foreign Secretary Rai has already sent a formal invitation in response to the proposal from the Indian side.
Earlier, on Chaitra 17, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal met his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar during the 9th Indian Ocean Conference in Mauritius. In the meeting, discussions were held on finalizing Nepal's priority projects and programs ahead of the high-level visits from both sides in the coming days.
In his meeting with Khanal, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had proposed sending Foreign Secretary Mishri to Kathmandu to understand the priorities of the new government to make the visit of the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister fruitful.
The agenda of Mishri's visit to Kathmandu has not been made public. According to officials familiar with the visit, Mishri will consult on the priorities of the new government and the expectations from Delhi while in Kathmandu.
In an interaction with Nepali journalists in New Delhi on Saturday, Mishri said that he will go to Kathmandu 'very soon'. He is expected to hand over an invitation to visit India to Prime Minister Shah on behalf of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he arrives in Kathmandu. Similarly, he will discuss the overall issues of Nepal-India relations with some influential ministers and his counterpart Rai.
'I am going to Kathmandu soon, but the date has not been decided yet,' he said in a meeting with Nepali parliamentary affairs journalists. Nepali journalists who are in Delhi at the invitation of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs interacted with Indian Foreign Secretary Mishri. According to foreign affairs officials, Minister Khanal is holding discussions with ministers on the status, progress, obstacles and new areas of cooperation of Indian aid projects in Nepal.
Khanal and Jaishankar had agreed in their meeting in Mauritius to activate bilateral mechanisms and explore new areas of cooperation by focusing on their respective priorities before the high-level visit and meeting.
It is not yet decided whether Indian Foreign Secretary Mishra will meet Prime Minister Shah. Earlier, Prime Minister Shah did not meet US President Donald Trump's Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Samir Paul Kapoor, who had visited Nepal.
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Foreign Minister Khanal have been urging the Prime Minister to meet high-ranking officials of countries like India, China and the US, which have been supporting Nepal for decades, to build cordial relations with those countries.
Nepal and India have about three dozen mechanisms ranging from the district to the Foreign Minister level, including security, water resources, irrigation, border management, trade, commerce and agriculture. Some of these mechanisms meet regularly, while others have not for years. Similarly, dozens of projects and programs are being implemented in Nepal with India's financial and technical assistance. Some of them are making encouraging progress, while others are not yet meeting their targets.
As per the agreement reached in Mauritius, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is doing its homework to set Nepal's priorities. Officials say that more meetings will be held at various levels before Mishri arrives in Kathmandu. According to the officials, Mishri will discuss the priority list received in Kathmandu with the political leadership there after returning to Delhi. They say that this will create an environment for a high-level visit.
