US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu will arrive in Kathmandu on a day-long visit on July 14, according to the Embassy of the United States of America.

The embassy, through a Facebook post, made the announcement of Lu’s visit on Thursday.

“As part of a trip to the region, Don Lu, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, is looking forward to returning to Nepal,” read the post, “On July 14, he’ll be meeting Government of Nepal leaders and Embassy staff.”

Lu is on a tour of South Asian nations including India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, among other countries.

As per the post, the US Assistant Secretary of State will also meet with an American Chamber of Commerce member to learn about their efforts to give Nepalis unique skills so they can compete globally.

According to foreign ministry officials, Lu is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Foreign Minister NP Saud among other senior officials.

This is Lu’s third visit to Nepal and the first after Pushpa Kamal Dahal was elected prime minister in December last year.

Lu first visited Kathmandu in November 2021, ahead of the Parliament’s ratification of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal to put pressure on the political leadership to ratify the compact. The US compact was ratified by the Parliament on February 27, 2022.

In July 2022, the US Assistant Secretary of State visited Nepal for the second time after Kathmandu refused to be part of the US State Partnership Program (SPP) against the backdrop of strong public opinion against the programme.