India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang have separately congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal on his appointment as the prime minister of Nepal. Similarly, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe made a congratulatory phone call to Dahal on Friday and offered to work with him closely.

On Friday, Indian ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava met with Dahal and handed over the congratulatory message sent by the Indian prime minister.

Modi was the first foreign head of government to congratulate Dahal on his appointment as the prime minister of Nepal. During the meeting held with Srivastava, he extended an invitation to Dahal to visit India. Although the Indian side has only verbally communicated with Dahal about the visit, soon there would be a written invitation to Dahal for a state visit to India, sources said.

Besides Modi, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra also called Dahal and congratulated him on his appointment as prime minister. In a recent interview to one Indian television news channel, Dahal had said that his first foreign visit will likely be to India.

After Dahal was appointed prime minister on Sunday, Modi congratulated him and said that the unique relationship between India and Nepal is based on a deep cultural connection and warm people-to-people ties. “I look forward to working together with you to further strengthen this friendship,” Modi added. Srivastava, during his meeting with Dahal, had read out the message of Modi where the Indian prime minister expressed his desire and intent to work together with the new government in Nepal.

In a regular press conference held at the Ministry of External Affairs in India on Thursday, the ministry’s spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Indian government is looking forward to working together with the new government in Nepal and to further strengthen the bilateral relations.

“Our prime minister congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Nepali PM replied and said that he wants friendly relations between the countries. He talked about natural affinity. Both our countries have unique bilateral relations,” said Bagchi, while speaking at the media briefing. “We hope to work together with the new government of Nepal. We are eager to work together with the new government formed through the recent elections.”

Similarly, Chinese Premier Li also congratulated Dahal and sent a congratulatory message via the Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy, Wang Xin. Wang called on Dahal and conveyed the congratulatory message from the Chinese Premier, and exchanged views on China-Nepal relations and issues of mutual interest, the Chinese Embassy said in a Twitter post.

China and Nepal are traditional friendly neighbours, linked by mountains and rivers, Li said in his message. “Our two countries have always mutually respected, equally treated, and sincerely supported each other.”

Li added: “In recent years, China-Nepal relations have maintained sound and stable development with substantial achievements of practical cooperation in various fields, bringing benefits to the two countries and even the region. I stand ready to work with you to push forward the China-Nepal strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity to deliver greater benefits to our two peoples.”

In response to Sri Lankan President’s greetings, Prime Minister Dahal tweeted: “Pleased to receive a phone call with warm words of congratulations and best wishes from H. E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe @RW_UNP, President of Sri Lanka. Our views converged towards further strengthening Nepal-Sri Lanka friendly relations!”