Foreign secretary Vikram Misri to visit Kathmandu as preparations begin for Nepal PM’s India trip

New Delhi (TIP): India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to visit Kathmandu on November 4 as New Delhi and Kathmandu step up preparations for Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s proposed official visit to India later next month.
The visit is expected to focus on discussions with Nepalese officials over the agenda, key bilateral issues and possible agreements to be announced during Shah’s proposed meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to diplomatic sources, Shah is likely to undertake his first official bilateral visit to India around November 22, although the dates have not yet been formally confirmed by either government.
Misri’s visit is being viewed as an important diplomatic step towards strengthening engagement between the two neighbouring countries following the formation of Shah’s government in March this year.
A senior Nepalese Foreign Ministry official confirmed that the two sides would discuss possible agenda items for the Nepalese Prime Minister’s India visit. Misri is expected to hold meetings with senior government officials and ministers during his November 4-6 visit. However, it remains unclear whether he will meet Prime Minister Shah during his stay in Kathmandu.
Meanwhile, India’s newly appointed Ambassador to Nepal, Sudhakar Dalela, is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on November 3, a day before Misri’s visit, to assume his diplomatic assignment.
Dalela, a 1993-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, will succeed Naveen Srivastava, who has completed his tenure in Kathmandu.