Mar 14, Kathmandu- Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar are scheduled to meet. The meeting is scheduled to take place during the Raisina Dialogue starting from March 17 in New Delhi.

‘Foreign Minister Rana and Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will meet during the Raisina Dialogue program,’ his secretariat has said. According to the secretariat, bilateral meetings are scheduled with counterparts from other friendly countries on the same occasion.

Rana has reached New Delhi to participate in the Raisina Dialogue, which is being organized in New Delhi from March 17 to 19 by The Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Foreign Minister Rana reached New Delhi on Thursday after visiting and offering prayers at Baba Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand.

He was welcomed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Additional Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs Manu Mahawar and Nepali Ambassador to India Dr. Shankar Sharma.

Minister Rana is scheduled to address Nepal on behalf of the country by participating in separate sessions titled ‘Climate Change Status and Problems’ and ‘What the South Wants’ at the Raisina Dialogue, the secretariat said.

According to the secretariat, Foreign Minister Rana is also scheduled to address the ‘Digital Public Infrastructure Conclave’.

Earlier, there was news that the Foreign Minister was also taking the initiative to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Nepali Ambassador in New Delhi, Dr. Shankar Sharma. Although Ambassador Sharma is said to be taking the initiative to create an environment for a meeting between the two leaders, this has not been confirmed yet. It is certain that the two counterparts will meet after a long time.

Since his appointment as Prime Minister on Ashad 31, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had held talks with his Indian counterpart Modi in New York, USA.

Oli and Indian Prime Minister Modi met in New York on Ashwin 7. The sideline meeting was held at the Lotte Palace in New York during the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations.

It is said that the coldness in Nepal-India relations has not disappeared from that meeting either. That is why Indian Prime Minister Modi has not yet sent an invitation to his counterpart Oli. Earlier, on Bhadra 3, during his visit to India, the Foreign Minister had a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Modi.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister handed over the invitation to visit Nepal sent by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to Modi. But neither Modi has accepted the invitation nor has he invited Oli. After India did not extend the invitation, Oli visited China from Mangsir 17 to 20 and signed the BRI Framework Agreement.

Diplomats have been commenting that Oli's move has further embittered the southern neighbor. After returning from China with Oli, Foreign Minister Deuba had reached India while on a European trip.

Foreign Minister Deuba, who arrived in Delhi on Paush 4 via Europe, had said that Nepal wanted additional air routes from India. Minister Dr. Rana said this while addressing the Indo-Nepal Economic Conference held in New Delhi on Paush 5 as the chief guest.

Even then, she did not fail to try to meet the Indian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. But Delhi, irritated by the progress of the BRI Framework Agreement, did not give her time. After that, she returned empty-handed. Now, she is set to travel to Delhi again in the first week of Chaitra.

While there, there is talk of lobbying for an environment for sideline talks with Indian Prime Minister Modi at the BIMSTEC summit to be held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand from April 2-4. However, there has been no formal comment from officials from both Nepal and India on this.

Meanwhile, in an interview given to The Hindu on Falgun 11, Minister Deuba said that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to India will take place by June 2025. In an interview with The Hindu, Foreign Minister Rana had said that she hoped that the Prime Minister would visit India by June 2025.

Earlier, she had said that there would be 'sideline' talks between Prime Minister Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the BIMSTEC meeting. Foreign Minister Rana had said that Prime Minister Oli would be invited to visit India during the BIMSTEC meeting to be held in Bangkok in April.

This is Rana's third visit to Delhi since assuming the charge of Foreign Minister. In such a situation, the delay in Prime Minister Oli's visit to India has been interpreted as tension between the two countries. Prime Minister Oli has completed his first official visit to China after not receiving an invitation from India.