Nepal PM Dahal to visit India next week, hold talks with Modi

Reuters

Published May 27, 2023 03:30AM ET

NEW DELHI/KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal will visit India next week and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to strengthen the historically deep ties between the two countries.

The visit will “further strengthen the age-old, multifaceted, and cordial relations between Nepal and India,” Nepal’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The trip will be Dahal's first official foreign trip since he was elected prime minister in December 2022. He has visited India three times before as prime minister in previous tenures.

Dahal, a 68-year-old former Maoist rebel leader who goes by the name Prachanda, meaning "fierce", will also meet other senior Indian officials, including President Droupadi Murmu.

As a sign of the strong ties between New Delhi and Kathmandu, Dahal’s visit follows the convention of Nepali prime ministers making New Delhi their first international port of call after assuming the office.

The four-day visit will begin on May 31 and will also include visits to the temple town of Ujjain and Indore.