The President of the Nepali Congress, Sushil Kumar Koirala, will visit India from August 4 to 9. During this five-day visit, he is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj among other officials.
The two sides are expected to discuss Nepal’s ongoing peace process and the Constituent Assembly election, that is scheduled for November 19. He is also expected to visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to meet the respective Chief Ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Nitish Kumar. The leaders are expected to deliberate on flood and inundation problems in the border areas.
India and Nepal share close bilateral and trade ties. The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the basis of our bilateral relations. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner and accounts for 48% of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country. Nepal plunged into a constitutional deadlock after former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai dissolved the Constituent Assembly in May 2012 – as it had failed to deliver a draft for the country’s permanent constitution despite repeated extensions of deadlines.