India proposes Naveen Srivastava as new ambassador to Nepal

India has formally proposed Naveen Srivastava as its new ambassador to Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Himalayan nation in mid-May.

According to diplomatic sources in Kathmandu, the Nepalese government has already received the agreemo (the document formally seeking Nepal’s concurrence for the posting of Srivastava) from India and is expediting the process to clear it soon so that the new ambassador can assume his office in Kathmandu before the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal on May 16, which marks Buddha Jayanti.

Srivastava is going to succeed Vinaya Mohan Kwarta, who has already assumed office as the foreign secretary of India. Srivastava presently heads the division in the ministry of External Affairs dealing with China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia. He has also served in China as the consul general in Shanghai and given Chinese efforts to widen its strategic influence in Nepal to counter India, Srivastava had the much-needed experience to deal with Beijing.

Both Kathmandu and New Delhi are yet to make a formal announcement of the visit but as per Nepalese media reports the visit of India’s Prime Minister to Nepal is expected to be brief. He will participate in ceremonies at Maya Devi Temple, an ancient shrine at the UNESCO world heritage site of Lumbini and is likely to fly back to New Delhi after attending the event.

This will be India’s Prime Minister’s first visit to the Himalayan Nation during his second term, and also the first since travel was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Narendra Modi visited Nepal four times during his first term between 2014-19. Both India and Nepal are working hard to repair the historical old age ties that were disrupted by several controversial decisions taken during the term of former Nepalese prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Oli’s government had published a new political map of Nepal in 2020 that included the Indian territories of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh that triggered a row that lasted a while..