New Delhi, Nov 2 Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will undertake a two-day visit to Kathmandu beginning Wednesday to prepare grounds for a likely trip to India by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah by early next month.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Misri is travelling to the neighbouring country to discuss bilateral, regional and global matters of mutual interest.
People familiar with the matter said the foreign secretary’s visit is aimed at making preparations for the planned trip to India by the Nepalese prime minister.
“India and Nepal share strong and friendly ties which have seen substantial progress across diverse areas of cooperation,” the MEA said.
“The foreign secretary’s upcoming visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and will help further enhance the comprehensive bilateral partnership,” it said in a statement.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. Nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.
In May, the bilateral relations came under some unease following Shah’s remarks seeking involvement of China and the United Kingdom to address the long-standing border dispute between India and Nepal.
New Delhi categorically rejected any role for third parties to resolve its boundary row with Nepal, saying the two countries have an established bilateral mechanism to deal with all aspects of the border issue.
Nepal and India have had an old boundary dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India has consistently maintained that the territories are part of Uttarakhand.
(PTI News)
