Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s three-day visit to India beginning Friday will provide an opportunity to review the “significant growth” in bilateral ties and expand it further, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It will be Deuba's first official visit to India since assuming office in July for the fifth time as prime minister.  

Deuba's visit to New Delhi will come within a week of the visit to Kathmandu by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during which wide-ranging agreements were signed, including for infrastructure, connectivity and energy. 

“India and Nepal enjoy age-old and special ties of friendship and cooperation. In recent years, the partnership has witnessed significant growth in all areas of cooperation,” the MEA said in a statement.

Deuba and his spouse Arzu Deuba will be in India till April 3, on an official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi on April 2. He will also have meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

“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 statement said

“Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of Nepal will visit Varanasi,” the MEA statement said.

(SAM)