Kathmandu, Feb 13: India Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu on Monday on a two-day visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Bharat Raj Poudyal.
He was welcomed by Indian Ambassador to Kathmandu, Naveen Srivastava and recieved by Poudyal at the airport. As soon as he arrived in Kathmandu, both Poudyal and Kwatra sat for delegation level talks where they will review and revisit the entire gamut of bilateral ties.
This is the first high-level visit from India after Pushpa Kamal Dahal became prime minister on December 25 last year.
Kwatra and his Nepali counterpart Paudyal will be reviewing the status of Indian-funded projects in Nepal, among other things. He will call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Dahal, and former prime minister duo Sher Bahadur Deuba and K.P. Sharma Oli, among others, and discuss the entire gamut of bilateral ties.
Kwatra is also expected to hand over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation letter to Prime Minister Dahal to visit India.
Since the prime minister Prachanda is preoccupied with the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for March 9, it is still unclear whether the prime minister will pay a visit to the southern neighbour before the elections.
During Kwatra’s visit, Nepali and Indian officials will discuss various matters of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health, and culture, among other things, according to the foreign ministry.
In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said this will be the first stand-alone visit by the foreign secretary to Nepal since he assumed charge. He was appointed foreign secretary in April last year.
Both Poudyal and Kwatra will discuss various bilateral engagements including in energy, power sector, connectivity, boundary and border, trade, commerce, transit, development and economic cooperation among others and review the progress made in various projects, according to the officials.
The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the Indian ministry said.
“India has historical and civilisational linkages with Nepal, and bilateral cooperation between the two countries has strengthened in the recent years, with several major infrastructure and cross-border connectivity projects completed with India’s assistance. The visit will be an opportunity to further advance our bilateral ties,’ the Indian ministry added.