KATHMANDU, July 4 (Nepal Foreign Affairs)–Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting Nepal in the second week of August, officials said on Tuesday.
Swaraj shared that she will arrive to attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Minister’s Meeting on August 10 and 11 to be held in Kathmandu during her meeting with visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara in New Delhi on Monday evening.
The BIMSTEC Foreign Minister’s Meeting is expected to finalize the agendas and date of the BIMSTEC Summit to be hosted by Nepal later this year.
Nepal is current chair of the BIMSTEC and it is expected to hold the Summit of the regional body. However, it will depend on the domestic political issues of Nepal, officials said.
This is the first high level visit of Nepal to India since the formation of Deuba-led government in June.
During the meeting held at the Indian External Affairs Ministry, the two leaders noted with pleasure that Nepal-India bilateral relations were making steady progress in recent time and these friendly relations had been reinforced by exchange of visits at various levels, read a press release issued by the Nepal Embassy in New Delhi.
Both the leaders reviewed and discussed wide range of bilateral matters including development cooperation, trade and transit, cross border infrastructure, hydropower projects among others.
Indian External Affairs Minister congratulated the Government of Nepal for the successful conduct of two phases of local elections.
Mahara thanked the Government of India for the support provided to Nepal’s socio-economic development.
Swaraj hosted a dinner in honour of the Deputy Prime Minister this evening.
On the occasion, Mahara and Swaraj discussed about forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India possibly the third week of July. Swaraj asked Mahara to finalize the Detail Project Report of the Pancheswor Multipurpose Project which has been put on hold for years.
The Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to return to Kathmandu this afternoon.