Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj during his visit to India that begins on June 10.

The main purpose of his visit is to participate in the convocation of the South Asian University on June 11. According to sources, it is almost certain that Thapa will meet Swaraj but the exact time has not been scheduled yet.

Thapa’s visit to India is the first by a senior Nepali official after the abrupt cancellation of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari’s visit to India last month, which “soured” relations between the two countries.

“The visit will be the beginning of engagements between the two countries at the political level, which will be helpful to clear the misunderstanding,” said officials. The Indian side has taken the cancellation of the President’s visit “seriously”, stating that such a move would affect bilateral ties. However, India has not made any public statement about it.

The Nepali side had said the visit was cancelled due to some pressing issues at home. Indian officials said they were not consulted with before the Nepal government decided to cancel the visit.

Nepali officials are making efforts also to arrange for Thapa’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will return to New Delhi on June 10 from his foreign trips.