Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali is all set to visit New Delhi on January 14 to participate in the sixth meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission at the foreign minister level.

Though both sides have yet to announce the date, sources at the Nepali embassy in New Delhi told the Post that Gyawali will travel to New Delhi on January 14.

Gyawali will lead the Nepali delegation in the joint commission meeting the same day, according to an official at the Nepali embassy in Kathmandu who did wish to be named.

India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation.

Since Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House on December 20, Gyawali will be travelling to Delhi as a foreign minister of a caretaker government.

Despite Nepal and India trying to hold a meeting early, both sides could not finalise the dates in the face of fluid political situation in Kathmandu.

The Nepal-India Joint Commission is the highest-level mechanism between the two two countries to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral ties.

Gyawali’s visit to Delhi follows rapid political developments in Kathmandu and a flurry of visits by officials from both India and China.

After a lack of bilateral dialogue between Nepal and India as relations had soured between the two countries over border issues, Delhi took the initiative for a rapprochement in October by sending the chief of Research & Analysis Wing, India’s foreign spy agency. Indian Army chief and foreign secretary then visited Kathmandu in November. The same month, Chinese defence minister landed in Kathmandu on a day-long visit.

On December 20, Oli dissolved the House, which led to a split in the Nepal Communist Party. This added to confusion whether to hold the bilateral meeting between the two countries.

After both sides agreed to continue talks, decks for Gyawali’s visit to India were cleared, said officials.

“Preparations to hold the Joint Commission meeting at the foreign minister level are in the final stage,” Nilamber Acharya, Nepal’s Ambassador to India, told the Post. “The visit also signifies that Nepal-India relations move forward in any difficult circumstances.”