Nepal PM Oli invites PM Modi for a state visit

Kathmandu, Aug 20 (PTI): Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba on Monday handed over an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli to pay a state visit to the Himalayan nation, according to an official statement.

Rana is on an official visit to India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. She called on Prime Minister Modi.

“While conveying warm greetings and best wishes from Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, she handed over his invitation to the Prime Minister of India for a state visit to Nepal,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.

“During the call on, views were exchanged on further consolidating Nepal-India relations and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries,” the statement said.

Rana had a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar where both the leaders “reviewed overall aspects of Nepal-India relations, including matters relating to trade and transit, energy, connectivity, investment, air routes, flood and inundation, Pancheshwor Multi-purpose Project, sports, border infrastructures among others”, it said.

“The two sides also agreed to continue engagements at various levels including through regular bilateral mechanisms,” the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated Rana on her appointment as the Foreign Minister of Nepal and appreciated the ongoing momentum in high-level engagements between the two sides, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.

She handed over an invitation from Nepal’s Prime Minister Oli for Prime Minister Modi to visit Nepal. The Prime Minister accepted the invite for a visit to Nepal on mutually convenient dates to be decided through diplomatic channels, the MEA said.

Deuba began her five-day trip to India on Sunday on her first official trip abroad after assuming the charge.

The Nepalese foreign minister’s visit comes a week after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Kathmandu.

Nepal is an important neighbour for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship between the two sides.

The country shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states — Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.