Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba arrives in India on three-day visit

Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba arrived here on Friday on a three-day visit that is expected to inject fresh momentum into bilateral ties.

A high-level delegation is accompanying Deuba.

He and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold wide-ranging talks on Saturday, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are also expected to call on the visiting leader.

It is Deuba's first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister in July last year for a fifth time following a spell of political turmoil in Kathmandu.

Deuba had visited India in each of his four earlier stints as prime minister of Nepal. His last visit to India in his capacity as the prime minister was in 2017.

"A fond welcome to a special friend. PM of Nepal @SherBDeuba arrives in India for an official visit from 01-03 April 2022. This is his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office in July 2021," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Nepal is important 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.

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.

Nepal's access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.

The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations between the two countries.

"The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review this wide-ranging cooperative partnership and to progress it further for the benefit of the two peoples," the MEA said on Monday.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the prime minister of Nepal will visit Varanasi.