President Bidya Devi Bhandari will embark on a five-day state visit to India from April 17-21 at the invitation of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

This is the maiden state visit of President Bhandari to India after assuming office of the President in October 2015.

According to a press statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the upcoming visit of President Bhandari reflects the priority that both India & Nepal attach to further strengthening of their age-old and unique partnership, underpinned by shared historical and cultural linkages and strong people-to-people connections.

During the visit, President Bhandari will hold meetings with Indian President President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President  Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The External Affairs Minister and other Ministers are also scheduled to call on the President during the visit.

Apart from official engagements in New Delhi, President Bhandari will also be visiting Gujrat and Orissa.

"The upcoming visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, and will further deepen the cordial and cooperative ties that exist between India and Nepal,” read the statement.

The President was preparing to visit India in May last year but it was cancelled due to lack of preparations on the government’s part.