Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday on a two-day visit.

Misri was welcomed by his Nepali counterpart Sewa Lamsal at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Misri arrived in Nepal at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Lamsal. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two foreign secretaries will discuss various matters during the visit to further strengthen Nepal-India relations and advance cooperation.

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. Misri undertook the first familiarisation visit to Bhutan on July 18.

Foreign ministry officials said that as customary practices 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 is scheduled to call on President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana and hold bilateral meetings with his Nepali counterpart, Lamsal.