At PM Modi’s invitation, Deuba to embark on 3-day India visit from 1 April

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba along with his wife Arzu Deuba will be on a three-day visit to India following the invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal, accompanied by his spouse Arzu Deuba, will pay an official visit to India from 01-03 April 2022,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement. This will be his first visit abroad after becoming Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation in July 2021.

“This will be the first bilateral visit abroad by the Prime Minister of Nepal after assuming office in July 2021. A high-level delegation will accompany the Prime Minister,” the MEA added in the statement.

The Nepalese PM will hold talks with PM Modi and will also call on Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on 2 April. “The Prime Minister of Nepal will call on the Vice President and hold talks with the Prime Minister on 2 April. The EAM S. Jaishankar and the NSA (National Security Advisor) Ajit Doval will call on the Nepalese PM,” the MEA added in the statement. The Nepalese PM Deuba will be visiting Varanasi also during his official visit to India.

“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 upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for the two sides to review this wide-ranging cooperative partnership,” the statement further added.

The visit comes close on the heels of the Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi’s conclusion of three-day visit to Nepal. Yi’s Nepal visit comes in the backdrop of Nepal ratifying the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact, a grant of USD 500 million developmental assistance from the US to Kathmandu, which is seen as a setback for China.

The Chinese official, associated with China’s diplomatic corps in Kathmandu, said that in the lead up to the compact’s endorsement, there was a lack of coordination among the Chinese agencies handling Nepal. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he also said the communication gap between Beijing and the Chinese Embassy was also growing, according to the Annapurna Express article. Nepal’s federal Parliament ratified the compact, but in the run-up to ratification, Beijing tried hard to stop it. It sees the USD 500 million development grant to Nepal as a part of America’s strategy to encircle China, the article noted.