Nepal to invite Indian President this year

Kathmandu : Nepal is all set to extend an invitation to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee to visit the country later this year.

“We are working to make Mukherjee’s visit possible within 2016,” the Kathmandu Post quoted Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal Kamal Thapa as saying.

Thapa, presently on a three-day visit to India, held discussions with the Indian officials about President Mukherjee’s visit.

President Mukherjee’s tenure ends in July next year.

It is yet not clear whether Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit New Delhi before her Indian counterpart’s visit to Nepal.

The relations between the two countries soured after Nepal recalled its envoy Deep Kumar Upadhyay and cancelled President Bhandari’s visit earlier in May this year.

However, the recent meeting between Thapa and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj indicates that the bilateral ties between both sides are back on track.

It may be recalled here that Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli had on behalf of President Bhandari extended an invitation to Mukherjee to visit Nepal during his India visit in February. (ANI)