Oli and Modi to hold bilateral meeting on the sidelines of UNGA in the US

KATHMANDU, 21: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sunday, at 5:30 pm local time.

Sources within the foreign ministry said that the meeting was confirmed on Friday after the Indian delegation conveyed PM Modi's readiness for the bilateral discussion.

Although Nepal had proposed a sideline meeting with Prime Minister Modi some time ago, a positive response from New Delhi had not been received. However, just hours before PM Oli arrived in New York on Friday, the Indian side conveyed that Modi was prepared for the meeting.

It is reported that, for the meeting, the Nepali side had made efforts at various levels, involving Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba, Lok Bahadur Thapa (Nepal’s representative to the United Nations in New York), and the Nepali embassy in New Delhi.

With the meeting confirmed, the Nepali side has also prepared the necessary groundwork.

When Oli became Prime Minister for the first time in 2015 and again in 2018, he began his foreign visits with a trip to India. However, during his third term, he did not visit any country, serving as PM for only three months. Now, during his fourth term as PM, a meeting between Oli and Modi is set to take place in the US.. 

During his fourth term, India has not extended a formal invitation to Oli for an official visit. However, he did formally invite Modi to visit Nepal during Foreign Minister Rana's trip to India, during a courtesy meeting with PM Modi in New Delhi on August 21.

After returning to Nepal from her visit to India, Rana stated that India has sent a positive response regarding PM Modi’s visit to Nepal. “The Indian Prime Minister has gladly accepted the invitation and given a positive response regarding visiting Nepal,” she said.

Foreign Minister Rana had an official five-day visit to India from August 18 to 22 at the invitation of her Indian counterpart, Dr S Jaishankar.