Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has said that the government has reached an agreement in principle regarding Prime Minister Balen Shah’s visit to India.
Khanal, who is currently in Mauritius to attend the 9th Indian Ocean Conference, told the Indian online outlet WION that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended an invitation for a visit along with a congratulatory message, and that the Nepali government has agreed to it in principle.
However, Khanal clarified that the visit has not yet been finalized.
“Our prime minister (Balen Shah) received an invitation in the congratulatory message. The prime minister has accepted it, too. But the date and time will be determined by our mechanisms,” Khanal said during the interview.
Khanal also mentioned Indian Prime Minister Modi had spoken with Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane and current Prime Minister Balen Shah immediately after the election.
“Since then, discussions have taken place between us at various levels. I also had the opportunity to meet him (India’s external affairs minister) in Mauritius. This was our first meeting. We discussed various aspects of bilateral relations there. We mainly focused on setting our priorities as a new government,” he said.
Khanal noted that Nepal and India have around 40 bilateral mechanisms, and emphasized that Nepal is currently working on determining its internal priorities.
“After that, we will move forward. This was discussed and agreed upon yesterday between me and Dr Jaishankar. We agreed to first set internal priorities and then initiate high-level visits accordingly,” he added.
Although the foreign minister referred to a possible India visit during his Mauritius trip, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office have not issued any official statement yet regarding the matter. The prime minister’s secretariat has also denied knowledge of such discussions.
“We are not aware of any such discussions regarding the India visit,” a member of the prime minister’s secretariat said.
