PM Oli’s visit during Modi’s swearing-in ceremony to further deepen India-Nepal ties: Dr. Bhattarai

KATHMANDU, May 28: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s upcoming visit to India to attend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony will further deepen the bilateral relation between Nepal and India, said Dr. Rajan Bhattarai, the prime ministers’ foreign affairs advisor.

PM Oli is scheduled to pay an official state visit to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the invitation of his counterpart Modi.

The prime minister will be accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya, Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, Dr. Bhattarai. Leaders from the BIMSTEC member states—Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan—and all the SAARC leaders will attend the ceremony on May 30.

According to the reports, around 2,000 dignitaries have been invited to the Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.

“PM Oli will hold bilateral talks with Indian PM Modi in New Delhi during his short visit. The visit is expected to further deepen the India-Nepal ties,” said Bhattarai, speaking at an interaction program organized by the Reporters’ Club Nepal on Tuesday.

“Some issues that have stalled since the past few years will be discussed during the bilateral engagement between the two head of the state,” he added.

Modi will be administered the oath of office and secrecy as the prime minister of India for his second term along with a new council of ministers on Thursday. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and other members of the Union Council of Minister amid a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Modi was elected unanimously as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance on May 25. On Saturday he called on President Kovind in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the House of the People following the general election to the 17th Lok Sabha.

On a different note, Bhattarai also said that both prime ministers will receive the Eminent Persons Group report very soon.

“Modi was busy campaigning for the elections. Thus, he could not receive the report. I am confident both prime ministers will receive the EPG report soon,” he said.

This is PM Oli second official state visit to India since April 2018, following a landslide victory in elections. PM Oli will return home on May 31.