At the invitation of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Nepal's new Foreign Minister, Arzu Rana Deuba, embarked on a five-day official visit to India starting today. The Ministry of External Affairs announced that this is the Nepal Foreign Minister's maiden visit to India since taking charge in July. Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba will be in India from August 18 to August 22, 2024.
The Ministry stated that Nepal is a significant partner for India under its "Neighbourhood First" policy and the visit is expected to strengthen ties between the two nations and allow them to review progress in bilateral cooperation.
"The visit of the Foreign Minister is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Nepal. Nepal is a priority partner of India in its Neighbourhood First Policy. The forthcoming visit will provide both sides an opportunity to discuss and review the progress in bilateral cooperation and help in advancing our ties further," the MEA added.
Further, Nepal's Foreign Ministry, in a separate statement on the leader's visit, confirmed that Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba will meet with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to discuss matters of mutual interest, aimed at enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri paid an official visit to Nepal
Notably, the Nepali Foreign Minister's visit follows a recent trip by India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to Nepal. During his visit, Misri met with his counterpart, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal, as well as Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba and discussions during the meets primarily focused on bilateral cooperation between the two nations. Further, elaborating on the details of Foreign Secretary's visit, both sides also noted with satisfaction the substantial progress achieved in the recent years in bilateral cooperation, especially in the various areas of connectivity - physical, digital, energy as well as people-to-people, which is manifested in the steady implementation of infrastructure projects related to roads, bridges, Integrated Check Posts, cross-border railways as well as petroleum pipelines.
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