KATHMANDU – Indian Secretary of External Affairs Harsh Vardhan Shringla has landed in Kathmandu for his two-day official visit.
This is his first visit to Nepal after being appointed India’s Foreign Secretary. The Indian Foreign Secretary is visiting Nepal at the cordial invitation of Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal.
Talking with journalists in Nepali at the Tribhuvan International Airport, he said that he was happy to visit Kathmandu as the Foreign Secretary.
“I have come to Nepal earlier also. But, this is my first visit to Nepal as the Foreign Secretary. India and Nepal are close friends. I will have many meetings where we will talk about advancing our relations,” said Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla will hold a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart Paudyal today. Following secretary-level talks, he is scheduled to call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali.
Foreign Secretary Shringla will also hand over Covid-19 related support to the Government of Nepal.
He will also pay a courtesy call to President Bidya Devi Bhandari. The Foreign Secretary of India is scheduled to return to New Delhi at 1 pm tomorrow.
The visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary comes amid border disputes that have worsened relations between the two countries.
The Nepali side is expected to raise the border issue during the bilateral talks to be held at the Foreign Secretary level.
This is what Foreign Secretary Shringla told media persons at the airport:
I am very happy to be here in Nepal. I have come to Nepal earlier also. But, this is my first visit to Nepal as the Foreign Secretary. India and Nepal are close friends. I will have many meetings where we will talk about advancing our relations.
First I will hold a meeting with Nepal’s Foreign Secretary. I will then meet Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali. I also plan to meet high dignitaries. You know my program. Tomorrow, I am giving a lecture on Nepal-India friendly relations. That will be a virtual program. So, everybody can access it. I am also going to Gorkha tomorrow.
We have diverted a lot of development assistance here. We had a commitment to rebuild 50,000 houses after the 2015 earthquakes. Prime Minister Modi had announced that. 40,000 houses have already been built there. Our focus is on education too. We have reconstructed three schools which will be inaugurated tomorrow.
We have also rebuilt and renovated a Buddhist monastery in Manang. That will also be inaugurated tomorrow. So, this is a very extensive program. We will continue to share with you the information. Thanks!
