Kathmandu: Immediately after the three-day visit of Indian Army Chief Manoj Mukunda Naravane to Nepal, preparations have been started for a meeting between the two countries at the level of Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister.
According to news sources, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Bardhan Shringala is almost certain to visit Nepal in the last week of November. Sources claim that the exact date will be made public in a few days.
Although he has visited other neighboring countries after assuming the responsibility of Foreign Secretary, he has not visited Nepal. Shringala has been visiting the Maldives since Sunday in connection with his visit to the neighboring country.
It is not certain whether there will be talks on Kalapani, Lipulek, Susta and other issues during the visit to Nepal. The two countries had agreed in 2014 to discuss the issue of Susta and Kalapani at the Foreign Secretary level, but not a single border meeting has taken place.
However, other bilateral agendas will be discussed during the visit. The officials said that the discussion would lay the groundwork for the meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission.
A meeting of the joint commission headed by the foreign secretaries of the two countries is being held in New Delhi next month. The Commission will conduct in-depth discussions on all bilateral issues and give directions to the staff for a solution. Boundary disputes will be discussed in the meeting of the commission. This time the meeting of the commission is scheduled to be held in New Delhi.
Similarly, preparations have been made for a meeting of the Boundary Working Group formed to resolve the technical issues related to the border between the two countries except Susta and Kalapani.
Though Nepal proposed for the meeting in August, India was not ready, but in recent times, India has been positive about the meeting.