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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's planned visit to Nepal due to start from Monday, has been postponed at the last minute, sources confirmed ANI.
According to two sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Foreign Secretary Misri's visit has been called off unexpectedly. "Preparations were made for the visit the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary who was due to land Kathmandu on Monday for two-day visit but the trip has been called off unexpectedly," one of the official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed ANI. "Communication was made from the Indian side about the postponement of the visit. No official reasons have been stated for it," the official added, seeking anonymity. Sworn-in as the Prime Minister, Balendra Shah (Balen) on March 27, after the successful conduct of the election- six months after the Gen-Z uprising, India had planned to send Foreign Secretary to Kathmandu. "The Indian Foreign Secretary was to extend a formal invitation to the Nepali Prime Minister for an official visit to India. But there was no proper response from the Nepal PMO for the meeting," official from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu confirmed ANI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first congratulated Balendra Shah and held a telephonic conversation after his party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured landslide victory. Two months after the formation of the government, Misri was invited by Nepali counterpart Amrit Rai, who planned to focus on strengthening bilateral ties and discussing various aspects of the two countries' multifaceted relations, the official from Nepal's Foreign Ministry confirmed. The Indian side had reportedly considered the visit important in the context of engaging with the new political leadership in Kathmandu. However, the visit was stalled after it became clear that high-level meetings, including with the Prime Minister, would not be possible during the trip. The cancellation of the trip comes at a time when India and Nepal are on a loggerhead on claims over Lipulekh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected that the cancellation of the visit and the border dispute are not related. "Nepal and India have very close relations. One issue cannot hamper other issues pertaining to the relation between the two countries," Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal, said in a media briefing. (ANI)
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