Vikram Misri holds talks with Nepal's top leadership on boosting ties

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Sunday called on Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and President Ramchandra Paudel and discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral ties across various sectors.

Misri arrived here earlier in the day for a two-day visit to the Himalayan nation on the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Amrit Bahadur Rai.

During his meeting with Oli, which took place at the Prime Minister's Office at Singhdurbar, matters of mutual interest were discussed to further deepen bilateral relations.

Misri reaffirmed the deep civilizational ties and strong IndiaNepal partnership, and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation across various sectors, the Indian embassy here said in an X post.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was also present at the meeting.

The foreign secretary separately called on President Paudel and conveyed greetings of the Indian leadership, apart from briefing Hon'ble President on the progress in bilateral ties, the embassy said in a separate post.

He will meet Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba and also hold a bilateral meeting with Nepalese Foreign Secretary Rai later in the day.

Misri will also meet top leaders of major political parties including Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

His visit reflects the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Nepal, and reaffirms the commitment to the #NeighbourhoodFirst policy, the Indian embassy said in a social media post.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said in a statement on Saturday that connectivity, development cooperation and other issues will be discussed during his visit.

Misri will return home on Monday after wrapping up his visit.

People familiar with the matter said the main focus of Misri's engagements in Kathmandu will be on preparing the ground for Prime Minister Oli's trip to New Delhi next month.

Oli is likely to visit India around September 16, according to diplomatic sources. However, the official announcement is yet to be made.