Kathmandu: Nepal’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Arju Deuba Rana has started her 5-day visit to India from today. She will return to Nepal on August 22. She is coming to India after KP Sharma Oli became the Prime Minister of Nepal again. Earlier, during the time of KP Oli, relations between India and Nepal had become very tense. KP Oli is considered a strong supporter of China. Now Arju Deuba Rana has started a five-day official visit to New Delhi with a special message from KP Oli. During this time she will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations and promote cooperation.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that Rana is visiting India at the invitation of Jaishankar. This is Rana’s first official visit abroad after assuming office. It said, “During this visit, Foreign Minister Rana will hold bilateral meetings with her Indian counterpart Jaishankar and discuss matters of mutual interest to strengthen Nepal-India relations and promote cooperation.” The statement said that Rana’s visit, as part of the frequent high-level visits between Nepal and India, will further strengthen the decades-old, deep and multifaceted relations between the two neighboring countries.

Nepal is an important partner of India

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said in a statement, “Nepal is a primary partner of India under its ‘Neighbor First’ policy. The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to both sides to discuss bilateral relations and review progress in it and will help further strengthen our relations.” Nepal’s Communications and Information Technology Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung had earlier said that Rana, wife of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, is visiting after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Thursday, which endorsed the visit of a delegation led by the Foreign Minister to India.