Kathmandu: Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s visit to India will be finalised only after the external affairs ministries of both countries hold consultations, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal said.
Khanal said that Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has sent an invitation to Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah “Balen” to visit India.
“It is highly natural to have high-level visits between the two countries; the matters relating to date and other details will be finalised only after the two ministries hold consultations,” he said after he returned to Nepal Monday night, concluding his visit to Mauritius, where he attended the 9th Indian Ocean Conference.
Khanal added that no date and itinerary of the visit have been finalised so far.
The government has not yet made any decision regarding the matter, he added. “Only after the new government fixes its priorities and the two foreign ministries complete their preparations, a decision will be made regarding such a high-level visit,” he added.
Khanal said that the matter relating to the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to India also featured during his meeting with Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar in Mauritius on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference.
“I have expressed my view that the high-level visit will take place after the technical mechanisms of the two ministries complete their tasks,” he said.
There exist around 40 such mechanisms between the two countries, and some of these mechanisms are inactive, he pointed out.
“We need to activate these mechanisms, and the visit will take place only after completing all the preparations,” Khanal said.
