Nepalese Prime Minister K P Oli will embark on a fence-mending visit to India next week and hold talks with its top leadership on issues of mutual interest to boost bilateral relations that touched a low due to a crippling protest and blockade led by Madhesis.
The six-day maiden visit to India beginning February 19, which is also the premier's first official trip overseas after he took office four months ago, will see Oli meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi besides calling on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari.
"During the visit Prime Minister Oli will try to clear past misunderstandings and strengthen bilateral relations," Nepalese Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, who was here to attend the funeral ceremony of former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala, told PTI.
He said that during the visit, "the Prime Minister would mainly stress on ensuring India's full acceptance of Nepal's new constitution and winning support for its smooth implementation".
He will not sign any important agreements during the visit as the trip was for revamping the bilateral ties and fostering understanding, pointed out Upadhyaya, who also called on Oli and discussed preparations for the forthcoming official visit to India.
According to Upadhyaya, Oli's visit would also focus on ensuring that Nepali people would not have to face hardships experienced during the past months of blockade again.
Oli's much-anticipated visit to India at the invitation of Modi comes days after agitating Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, ended their crippling protests and blockade that had soured the bilateral ties.
A Cabinet meeting held here yesterday approved Oli's visit. Government spokesperson Sherdhan Rai told reporters that details of the trip were discussed during the meeting.
The members of the prime minister's delegation are yet to be finalised, according to Minister for Information and Communication Rai.
During the visit, Oli will hold official talks with Modi on matters of mutual interest, a foreign ministry statement said, adding that he will also meet ministers and leaders of various political parties besides interacting with the business community and addressing the Indian Council of World Affairs while in Delhi.
Besides holding high-level meetings with Indian officials in New Delhi, preparations are underway for Oli's "visit to India's financial capital Mumbai, where he is expected to address a business conclave of Indian investors and industrialists", Upadhyaya said.
He added that the premier would also seek Indian investment for development of infrastructure in Nepal.
While discussing his upcoming visit with Nepal's business community at his official residence in Baluwatar on Friday, Oli had said his visit was aimed at removing misunderstandings and setting a 'milestone' in bilateral relations, sources close to the Prime Minister said.
