Nepal, India announce Deuba's New Delhi visit in April

Nepal and India have jointly announced the visit of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to New Delhi from April 1.

This will be Deuba's first foreign visit after assuming office in July 2021.

According to Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the three-day visit is taking place at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Deuba will be accompanied by his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba.

According to the MoFA statement, the entourage of Prime Minister Deuba will comprise Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka, other senior ministers and secretaries and officials.

"The visit will further strengthen the multifaceted, age-old and cordial ties between Nepal and India."

According to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Prime Minister Deuba is scheduled to call on Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and hold talks with Modi at the Hyderabad House on April 2.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, as well as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will also call on Prime Minister Deuba.

The visit is expected to provide an opportunity to review the wide-ranging cooperative partnership between the two countries and progress it further for the benefit of the two people, the Indian MEA said.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, Deuba is also scheduled to visit Varanasi, from where he will return to Kathmandu on April 3.

While in Varanasi, Deuba will visit the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Nepali Temple also known as Shri Samrajeswar Pashupatinath Mahadev Mandir.

The Nepali Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is located on Lalita Ghat and was envisaged by the late Nepali King Rana Bahadur Shah who was exiled to the city from 1800-1804.

It was during his exile that he decided to build a replica of Kathmandu's famous Pashupatinath Temple in Varanasi.

The construction of the temple was taken forward by his son, King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah.

Earlier Deuba was supposed to travel to India in January to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit but it was cancelled due to the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.