Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Nov. 26 during his two-day visit designed to cement ties between peoples of the two neighbors, people familiar with the matter said on Friday, insisting that there were no changes. on the calendar of India’s top diplomat amid political turmoil in Kathmandu.
“The Chancellor’s itinerary is intact. There has been no change, ”a senior diplomat told the Hindustan Times, responding to rumors in Kathmandu that New Delhi could postpone Shringla’s visit amid uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Oli.
The visit is the first formal diplomatic contact between the two sides after relations between the two neighbors plummeted after Nepal opposed an 80-kilometer border road to the Lipulekh region, claimed by Nepal. Kathmandu responded by publishing a new map showing the Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepalese territory.
The visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary is expected to help stabilize bilateral ties and focus on deepening ties between peoples. In addition to Prime Minister Oli, Shringla is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal, who took office last month, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, and also with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
Shringla’s visit will take place at a time when Prime Minister Oli faces the third, and reportedly from Kathmandu, the most serious challenge to his authority since the ruling Communist Party of Nepal, where he faces the better-known Pushpa Kamal Dahal. by his nom de guerre Prachanda.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, according to the Kathmandu Post, has presented a political document accusing Prime Minister Oli of not ruling the country that has prompted a sharp response from the prime minister at a party meeting this week.
The communist party secretariat will meet on November 28, to be followed by its 44-member Standing Committee meeting on December 3. PM Oli is in the minority on these committees.
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