Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will visit India from April 6 to 8 on his maiden foreign trip after assuming office, in line with the tradition of a Nepali PM visiting India on his first overseas trip, the ministry of foreign affairs announced yesterday.
Oli’s visit comes following an invitation from his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya, Oli will lead a government delegation comprising of ministers, members of Parliament, secretaries and other high-ranking officials of the Nepali government, the ministry said.
His visit aims to revisit the century-old ties between the two countries.
During the visit, Oli will pay courtesy calls on Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Some senior Cabinet members of the Indian government will call on the Nepali leader.
Oli will also visit Pantnagar in the Uttarakhand state and attend a programme at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology there, according to the
ministry.
The Indian external affairs ministry said in a statement that Oli’s upcoming visit “will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review wide-ranging cooperative partnership and to progress it further”.
China on Thursday said it supports friendly ties between India and Nepal and that New Delhi, Kathmandu and Beijing are important neighbours to each other and can work together for common development.
Beijing also praised Nepal’s Prime Minister Oli remarks about the Himalayan nation maintaining an independent foreign policy.
“We commend the Nepali government’s commitment towards independent foreign policy. We also support Nepal developing friendly and positive relations with its neighbours,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.
“China, Nepal and India are important neighbours to each other. We hope these three could work together, have some sound interactions and achieve common development,” Lu added.
Talking to the envoys from different countries on Tuesday, Oli said that independent foreign policy and balanced conduct of relations would be the hallmarks of Nepal’s
external engagements.
The present establishment in Nepal is deemed to be pro-Beijing, much to the worry of India, analysts say.
Nepal has approved China’s Belt and Road project opposed by India due to the route of its artery which goes through disputed Kashmir.
China’s aid to Nepal has risen sharply and it is engaged in building infrastructure.
K P Sharma Oli
