First foreign tour: Nepal PM to visit India from Aug 23

Amid military standoff between India and China, the visit is significant as Deuba chose to visit New Delhi first after being elected two months back.

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who took over from Maoist leader Prachanda in a power- sharing deal in June, will visit India this month on his first official trip overseas, the foreign ministry announced today. The agenda of Deuba's five-day visit from August 23 is under discussion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times.

A high-level Chinese delegation led by the Vice Premier of China, Wang Yang, will visit Nepal ahead of the Deuba's visit to India and hold talks on post-quake reconstruction, Mahara said. He said Nepal wants to maintain cordial relations through peaceful diplomacy and dialogue with both India and Nepal. Dauba, the 71-year-old veteran Nepali politician known for his close ties to India, took over the reigns of Nepal when the Himalayan nation was navigating a political turmoil over the implementation of the Constitution and unrest in the southern plains due to the Madhesi agitation.

Besides holding talks in New Delhi on August 24, Deuba is slated to visit Bodh Gaya and Triputi Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh.

Mahara also said that a ministerial conference of the BIMSTEC grouping will be held in Kathmandu from August 10, according to the daily. The conference will lead to the summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation to be held in Nepal this year. The BIMSTEC grouping of countries of South Asia and East Asia involves Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

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