Nepal PM Deuba to travel to India on Friday on his maiden visit with 50-member delegation

Kathmandu, Mar 31 (PTI) Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will be accompanied by a 50-member delegation when he embarks on his maiden visit to India on Friday to further strengthen the multifaceted, age-old and cordial ties between the two countries.

This will be Deuba’s first foreign visit since he assumed office in July last year for a record fifth time. The Prime Minister’s entourage will include his spouse Arzoo Deuba, four cabinet rank ministers, government secretaries, high officials and a business delegation, totalling 50 members, the Prime Minister’s press chief Govinda Pariyar told PTI.

A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday finalised Deuba’s delegation that includes Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada and Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mahendra Ray Yadav, Pariyar said.

“The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted, age-old, and cordial ties between Nepal and India,” the ministry said on the Prime Minister’s 3-day visit. The team will also include secretaries in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources, Health and Population, Agriculture and Physical Planning. Deuba will hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart and also meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in honour of his Nepal counterpart. During his stay in New Delhi, Prime Minister Deuba will also address a gathering of business leaders. He is also scheduled to visit the holy city of Varanasi before wrapping up his trip on April 3. Earlier in January, he was scheduled to travel to India to participate in a business summit in Gujarat. However, the trip was cancelled after the summit was postponed due to the growing cases of COVID-19.

Deuba and Modi had met in Glasgow, Scotland in November last year on the sidelines of the UN climate conference and had “fruitful talks” on many aspects of India-Nepal friendship. Deuba had thanked his Indian counterpart for providing support to Nepal in essential medical supplies and vaccines in its fight against the pandemic during their first meeting in Glasgow.

During the meeting, overall matters of the bilateral relations were discussed. Deuba’s visit is taking place soon after Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi’s three-day tour to Nepal from March 25 to March 27. Nepal has recently appointed senior economist Shankar Prasad Sharma as its ambassador to India. PTI SBP VM AKJ VM