KATHMANDU, May 26: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will leave for New Delhi on May 31 for a four-day state visit to the southern neighbor.
Highly-placed government sources said that Prime Minister Dahal is preparing to visit India shortly after the annual budget for the Fiscal Year 2023/24 is presented in the federal parliament. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India, has quietly started making necessary arrangements for the visit.
Nepal, India officially announce PM Dahal's visit to India
Although preparations were made for his visit in April itself, Prime Minister Dahal's visit was canceled at the last moment. As per the tentative itinerary, Prime Minister Dahal will land in New Delhi on May 31. He will be welcomed by External Affairs Minister Jayashankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the same day.
On the next day, Prime Minister Dahal is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Modi. The meeting will be followed by various cooperation agreements between the two countries.
Prime Minister Dahal is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Indian President Draupadi Murmu and visit the Indian city of Mumbai during his four-day stay in India.
As part of the preparation, Ambassador of Nepal to India, Dr Shankar Sharma, held a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary S Jayashankar in New Delhi on Thursday. Sources said the meeting aimed to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Dahal's visit to India next week.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister NP Saud has also held consultation with former foreign ministers on the possible agenda of the visit. Inter-ministerial discussions are also being held to finalize the agenda of the visit, according to MoFA officials.
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