Kathmandu, November 10
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is coming to Nepal in the last week of November to prepare for a meeting between foreign affairs ministers of two countries.
Sources say the exact date of the visit will be announced soon upon mutual consent. After the visit will be over, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, is expected to hold a meeting with Indian Minister for External Affairs, S Jaishankar.
For the past several months, Nepal has been pressing India for the ministerial meeting to settle several outstanding issues between them including a border dispute regarding the Kalapani region. India had been seen reluctant about the meeting. However, of late, the southern neighbour has shown some positive gesture.
Yet, it is not clear if the two countries will discuss the border dispute and make any agreement during the next secretarial or ministerial meetings.
In 2014, Nepal and India had agreed to discuss the disputes related to Kalapani and Susta between the foreign secretaries. However, no such a meeting has been held since.
It has been learned that foreign secretaries of Nepal and India will also prepare for the meeting of a joint commission between the two countries scheduled to be held in New Delhi next month. The commission is also likely to discuss the border dispute.
