Kathmandu and New Delhi on Friday simultaneously announced that new Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri is coming to Nepal on a two-day visit this Sunday.

After assuming the charge of Indian foreign secretary on July 15, Misri is paying an official visit to Kathmandu, following his trip to Bhutan, to take stock of bilateral relations between Nepal and India.

The foreign ministry statement said that Misri is visiting Nepal on August 11-12 at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal. During the visit, the two foreign secretaries will discuss various matters to further strengthen Nepal-India relations and advance cooperation, the statement said.

Similarly, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the foreign secretary's upcoming visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and reflects the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its “Neighborhood First Policy.”

Misri took up his new role last month, succeeding Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who served as Indian ambassador to Nepal from March 2020 to April 2022. Mishri undertook the first familiarisation visit to Bhutan on July 18.

Foreign ministry officials said that as is customary after assuming office, new foreign secretaries tour South Asian countries to update themselves and take stock of bilateral relations.

Before being promoted to Indian foreign secretary, Misri served as deputy national security adviser of India.

The 59-year-old has a distinguished career, having served as private secretary to three prime ministers—Inder Kumar Gujral in 1997, Manmohan Singh in 2012, and Narendra Modi in 2014.

Known as a China expert within the Indian foreign policy establishment, Misri was India’s ambassador to China (2019-2021) and played a key role in India-China discussions following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes that resulted from the actions of the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh.

During the visit, he will call on President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana and hold bilateral meetings with his Nepali counterpart, Lamsal.

The foreign secretary of India is also scheduled to call on high-level dignitaries of Nepal, said the foreign ministry statement, adding that the visit is in continuation of the regular exchange of visits between two friendly neighbours.

India and Nepal share an age-old civilisational, cultural, and people-to-people connection, and bilateral cooperation between the two countries has further strengthened in recent years with continued momentum in high-level exchanges and major infrastructure and connectivity projects in Nepal having been completed and new ones undertaken with Government of India’s assistance, read the Indian statement,

“This visit of the foreign secretary will be an opportunity to further advance our bilateral ties.”